Closing the Gap
by PiscesChikk
Summary: k i don't know what Shonda plans to write in the new season. but i thought i'd explore the story of fitz and liv and how they find each other after the season finale. i think this one is gonna be at least a 3 part story. depending on how it goes it may be longer. hope you enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1

Closing the Gap

Fitz opened up the morning paper over breakfast and stared at the headline on the front page:

**"REAL ESTATE MOGUL HITS SNAG IN CONDO DEVELOPMENT DEAL IN D.C."**

the article went on to talk about a local community centre possibly being torn down to make way for a development for new construction. as Fitz read on he realized the 'mogul' being discussed was none other than Peter Carmichael one of his old friends from Harvard. he and Peter had kept in touch over the years although they hadn't spoken much since he was elected. Peter had come from old money. his family was very wealthy, and since graduation, Peter had slowly built his own empire, venturing into real estate and development. from what the papers were reporting he would be in D.C. for the next couple of days.

Mellie came to sit beside him at the table and said good morning. looking up over his coffee he responded in kind while she started eating her omlette, rather slowly. she was 7 months pregnant, and the last month of her pregnancy was really uncomfortable for her. she'd had to be put on bed rest for the past 2 months and wasn't able to make as many public appearances as she'd wanted. she wasn't happy about it.

it had been 9 months since they'd had their 20/20 interview. Nine months since he'd seen or heard from Liv. initially he was angry with her, furious even. but even more so he was hurt. even worse than the first time he'd lost her. he was willing to give it all up for her, but she had sold him out to Mellie. taken his choice away, without even discussing it with him. the hurt had eventually faded away, but he was left feeling jaded, cynical and cold.

it was as if his life was happening to someone else, he watched himself pass legislation after pushing for the D.R.E.A.M. act, he'd gone through conceiving a child with Mellie, he did and said all the right things to help Mel with her pregnancy, but he no longer felt like himself. something in him had died when Olivia walked out after the interview.

he excused himself from the table to head to a meeting with Cyrus. they were heading to a Jewish American Heritage event where he was set to address a crowd of about two hundred people.

Three hours later the event and speech was behind him and he and Cyrus were seated in a nice restaurant about to have lunch when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"Fitz. Is that you? I mean Mr. President." Two Secret Service agents stepped in front of the gentleman who he recognized as Peter Carmichael.

"Pete. it's good to see you." he said and took his friend's hand. "Gentlemen it's fine, he's an old friend of mine. Pete won't you join us?" he said pointing to the vacant seat. he introduced Pete to Cyrus.

"Sorry, but no. I'm having a business meeting and I don't want to be late. but we should catch up sometime this week."

"I read about your potential problem in the paper this morning."

"Yes this community centre has become a real obstacle in getting this land deal together. So i'm bringing in someone who knows the area well, has contacts and can advise me on how i need to proceed from here."

"I hope they're good." said Cyrus.

"Well she's supposedly the best. And you should know, she worked with you for a long time; Olivia Pope."

Fitz's heart stopped for a moment and he fought the urge to scan the restaurant to catch a glimpse of her.

He said something polite to Pete but wasn't quite conscious of what he was saying because directly in his line of sight was Olivia walking towards his table. a mixture of emotions ran through him: anger, hurt, desire and love.

she was the perfect picture of professionalism. she greeted both he and Cyrus and after a polite exchange she left the table with Pete. he sighed.

"Mr. President….."

he stopped Cyrus before he could say anything.

"The roast chicken is supposed to be good here Cyrus. How about we try that, hmmm?"


	2. Chapter 2

Fitz was in the middle of lunch with Pete in a restaurant in downtown D.C. and it almost felt like they were back in college. they had spent the better part of the hour reminiscing about the good old days, exams, parties, girls. those times seemed like ages ago. while Fitz had ended up married with two children and become President, Pete's marriage ended almost as soon as it began and he never remarried, but he did have a son who he was grooming to be the successor of his empire.

"When are you going to settle down again?" Fitz teased him.

"I'm going to use the old cliche and say that i just haven't met the right one who'd make me wanna settle down. at least not until this week."

"Oh?"

"Yes. that Olivia Pope…..she is….. something. i've met with her a few times this week and she has literally knocked my socks off. she's intelligent, a quick thinker, passionate about what she does, not to mention she's extremely easy on the eyes. i am utterly intrigued by her." Fitz watched his friend and couldn't believe he was actually gushing. Fitz was in shock.

"You certainly seem to be."

"I normally don't mix business with pleasure but i had to ask her out."

"What did she say?" asked Fitz eager to know if Liv was actually interested. he wondered if Pete had told him that he and Fitz went to college together and were good friends.

"Well of course she shot me down at first. but you know i can be rather persistent when i have to be. she eventually caved, rather reluctantly and we're having dinner this weekend."

Fitz took a sip of his drink. he couldn't believe that she had agreed to go out with him. sure Pete was charming, a smooth talker for sure, but…he still loved her. and now it seemed that she was moving on. did she even love him anymore? he began to question. it shouldn't matter to him anyway he thought. she made her choice when she pushed him back into Mellie's arms. still the thought of her with someone else, with Pete, it was like a stab in the heart.

"Hey….you alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

Later when he got back to the white house and was in his office, Cyrus came in.

"I got a call from Olivia. She wants a meeting."

"About what?"

"Something to do with the construction project for Peter Carmichael and the community centre. i think she needs your help with the head of the centre's council."

"Stephen Caine." he said mentioning his name. he turned towards the window in the back of his desk propping himself against his chair.

"We should be able to fit her in after your last meeting at 6:00pm"

"Set it up, Cy." he said

it was 6:45pm when Olivia walked into his office. she was absolutely beautiful. her hair was down and she had on a blue suit. Fitz drank in the sight of her. it seemed to him that she was doing the same. there was a brief flicker of longing in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly he felt like he might have imagined it.

he held his hand out for a handshake and she took it. they were being professional now. he invited her to sit.

she told him about the deal that Pete was offering to the community centre in exchange for its demolition but Stephen Caine had the ultimate say and he was being uncooperative.

"And what do you want me to do about it? asked Fitz. his voice and face betraying none of what he was really feeling. he wanted to ask her how she was. he wanted to ask her about Pete. was she attracted to him? how did she feel about him? did she miss him at all? did she still love him? did she still think about him as much as he thought about her?

he couldn't care less about the community centre.

"Well Caine is a friend of yours and a former colleague. I was wondering if you could talk to him and persuade him to change his mind. help him understand that this deal would not only be beneficial to Peter Carmichael but to him as well."

"That would be a big conflict of interest on my part Olivia. For one i am close friends with both of them and I'm also president. it would be unethical for me to use my influence to try to twist Stephen's arm about this. You know that. so i'm wondering why you really came here. you don't really need me to intervene. someone as resourceful as yourself, i'm sure you've another method of turning this situation in your client's favour. so why did you come here?

"That's the only reason i came."

"That's not true."

for a moment they just sat looking at each other. that gaze gave Fitz all the answers he wanted. She missed him. just as much as he missed her. and she was hurting terribly. she still loved him, he could see it in her eyes and she still wanted to be with him. he wouldn't lie to himself and say he wasn't anything but relieved, even ecstatic to know that the love of his life was still in love with him, but after all that had happened he wouldn't allow his heart to reach out to her. not this time. he broke the gaze and got up.

"Olivia….." before he could say anything else, the door opened and Cyrus walked in.

"Mr. President, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's Mellie. she's being taken to the hospital, she's in labour. we're bringing your car around."

Fitz looked at Liv for a brief moment. her love for him was in her eyes, but he had to go. he grabbed his coat and said goodbye


	3. Chapter 3

Fitz rubbed his eyes, then slowly opened them. he had been sitting in the hospital chair for quite a while and he was getting uncomfortable. he glanced at his watch and saw that it was coming up on 1am. he'd been in the hospital for hours with mellie since she'd gone into labour. it was touch and go the entire time. the labour had been gruelling for her. she'd given birth to a son, but he was having trouble breathing and was taken to the NICU. mellie had lost a whole lot of blood and was in a lot of pain. the whole time he'd stayed there, held her hand and tried to soothe her as best as he could. somehow though he felt a sort of detachment from it all. it wasn't a pregnancy he'd wanted, it was just something he went along with for the sake of his presidency. still the child was innocent. he thought about when he and mellie had first gotten married. true he'd never loved her, never in the way he loved olivia but he'd had genuine affection for her and he'd grown to love her as the mother of his children. he sighed and looked at her in the bed. she was heavily sedated and had been asleep for some time now.

his meetings for the following day had been postponed but he was set to leave to go to the G8 Summit that was being held in Chicago in the next 2 days. his was the host country so he couldn't miss it.

he got up and walked into the hallway. the media was in a frenzy, statements had been given and cyrus had taken care of any immediate issues that needed to be addressed. the hallways were filled with armed guards, and a few secret service agents. two of them were posted at mellie's door. fitz got himself a cup of coffee and walked towards the chapel at the end of the hall. he needed a break.

he sat down looking up at the small cross at the front. he needed a moment of clarity right now. his thoughts went to liv and their brief meeting this evening. she had looked so beautiful. it was as if a tiny delicate angel had walked into his office and sat down opposite him. there was something different in her eyes that had caused hope to spring up inside him for a brief moment but he had squelched it as quickly as it reared its head. he heard the door open and close behind him but he didn't look around. assuming it was cyrus, he started to speak.

"Cy, i was wondering when you'd figure out where i was."

"It's not cyrus."

he turned around at the sound of olivia's voice. she walked the aisle of the chapel and sat beside him. he kept his eyes on the crucifix.

"…..he told me where you were."

fitz didn't speak. he reached for his coffee. his mind went back to the first time he touched her hand on the bus on the campaign trail. the first night they had made love. he felt cold.

"I'm sorry. about mellie and the baby. how are you?" she rested a hand on his arm and looked up at him.

there was a time when her touch was all that fitz ever wanted but right now….

"As best as can be expected olivia. the baby's being monitored. they're doing the best they can but he's having trouble breathing. my wife almost died but she's resting now. me? I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"What do you want me to say olivia?" he regarded her coldly and shrugged her hand off of his arm. he slowly got up and intended to leave.

"Fitz wait. Please."

"I don't think it was a good idea for you to come here Livi. And I really don't want to see you right now."

"I know you're still angry with me, but…..I did what needed to be done to save you."

"Is that how you remember it, Liv? Because I don't remember it that way. I remember you rejected me. I didn't need any saving. i needed you. i wanted you. i made my decision to be with you, no matter the consequences. we both did, together. but you went behind my back and you made your deal with mellie. you left me….again. leaving me without a choice….again. so you coming here just to 'see how i am', it doesn't add up, it doesn't make sense and i think you should go."

his back was turned to her. he sighed. this was the last thing he wanted. he wanted to embrace her, pull her into his arms and consume her with his kiss. it would put a bandaid on the open wound he still had, but it would change nothing. ultimately he knew she wasn't willing to risk as much for him as he would for her.

"You think i wanted to leave? You think it was easy for me to do that? You think standing there and listening to Mellie talk about making a baby with you didn't turn my stomach?"

Fitz heard genuine sincerity in her voice but he didn't answer. he didn't turn around.

this was not the fitz that olivia knew. he was so cold and unbending. he had erected a huge wall between the two of them. here in this chapel they were a few steps apart, but emotionally he felt as if he were miles away from here. she wondered if she was even getting through to him. she walked closer to him until she was standing at his back, still he didn't turn around. fitz could feel her standing there, but not moving. neither of them did. he opened his mouth to speak, not even knowing what he was going to say but he felt the softest touch of her hand.

olivia rested it on his lower back. she was at a loss for words just as much as he was. her hand slowly moved around his waist and her next one reached up so that she could embrace him. she hugged him while he stood there and lay her head against his back. fitz let out a ragged breath.

"Fitz. I love you."

he tried to move her hands, but she came to stand in front of him and put her hands on his chest. she looked up at him, pleading.

"I do, Fitz. I love you. and i know that after everything you don't want to trust my words. but it's the truth…..just…. let me in." she put her hand on his cheek.

there was a knock then on the door and Cyrus walked in. Fitz cursed silently. it seemed every time he and Liv were together Cyrus was interrupting.

"Mr President, the doctor wants to see you about the baby. it's not good."

"Oh God. " Fitz said and started to leave. he looked at Liv. she had tears in her eyes.

"Liv….."

"It's okay. you have to go. Go. Your baby needs you." she wanted to say that she needed him, but it would have been selfish. she sat down in the front and looked up at the crucifix just as fitz had earlier. she felt so defeated.

****ok so this is part 3 what do you guys think?


	4. The Interim

Liv's eyes were glued to the television set in her office the next morning. non stop coverage of the crisis in the white house was literally on every news station in the country. she felt a little tired since she hadn't slept after she got home last night. she took a sip of green tea and sighed. CNN was now reporting that the son born to Fitz and Mellie had taken a turn for the worse and had developed Pneumothorax. simply put, air was leaking out into his chest cavity through holes in his lungs. apparently it was prone to happen to premature newborns who's lungs hadn't fully developed yet. medical experts spoke about the condition and cited various treatments for it. commentary went on and on. but no one mentioned Fitz except to say that he was still by mellie's side and that the G8 summit was in a matter of days. she wondered what state of mind he was in.

mellie was in stable condition and doing better and although she was drifting in and out of consciousness the doctors believed she would make a steady recovery.

Olivia had the persistent desire to go back to the hospital but she knew she shouldn't. this wasn't the type of crisis that required her presence. and the last thing she wanted to do was draw suspicion and interest from the wrong people. she picked up her phone to call cyrus. he answered on the third ring and his voice sounded ragged. he'd been with Fitz since they'd first arrived at the hospital.

"How is he, Cyrus?"

"Not good actually. He's very….withdrawn. To everyone but those who really know him, he appears to be handling it pretty well, but…"

to hell with not going back over there. she had to get to him.

"Cyrus…I….." she started thinking of nothing but being there for Fitz and how he must feel all alone.

"Don't do it Liv. Don't come back to the hospital."

"But…"

"As horrible as this situation is, it's going to do wonders for his approval rating. I know that right now he wants to see you, but you can't do it. think about the country. let him be the attentive husband, the concerned, broken father that he needs to be right now. after the scandal of billy and the amanda fiasco, he needs to do this… alone…. to regain the trust and sympathy of the people."

she couldn't believe her ears. she couldn't believe what cyrus was saying. clearly he didn't give a damn about Fitz, just about his presidency and his public image. she voiced her thoughts to him.

"You don't really give a damn about him do you, Cyrus?"

cyrus let out a sigh and snapped "Well see that's where you're wrong, Liv. protecting his image, his legacy, his presidency…..there's nothing i won't do to protect him." he was silent for a while then he added. "Just stay away Liv. right now….you just need to stay away…."

cyrus hung up and liv stared at her phone in disbelief.

she hardly had time to digest his words when stephen walked in.

"Peter Carmichael is here. he wants to see you."

Peter smoothly walked into her office with a sly grin. he looked like a cat contemplating how to kill the canary. little did he know Liv had dealt with some cats in her day and she was no helpless bird.

"So are you ready for our date tonigt?"


	5. Closing the Gap Part 4

"I want to see him." said mellie. after finally waking up an hour ago and being seen by the doctors it was the first thing she said. "I want to see my son."

the nurses had gotten her dressed and put her in a wheelchair. and she and fitz silently went together to the NICU to see their baby son. silent tears ran down mellie's face at the sight of him while Fitz hung his head.

he was asleep in an incubator and he had a tube inserted into his chest to release the leaked air. his right lung had collapsed and his skin was a light blueish colour. he was so small, and totally helpless.

"He needs to know we're here, Fitz." said mellie, her tears coming faster now. the nurse moved towards her and pushed the wheelchair closer to the incubator. mellie put her hand through one of the openings in it and placed it on his tiny head. he was so small, his breath coming so fast. she started to cry again, sobbing this time and Fitz came to stand beside her. he put his hand on her shoulder and bent beside the wheelchair. he put his hand on top of the incubator almost as if trying to embrace his tiny little boy. he felt such a heaviness in his chest, such a sense of loss and confusion. he turned to mellie and held her, rubbing her back, just being there for her. he didn't know he would feel such a loss over a baby he didn't want, but he did.

"We have to get her back to bed, Mr President. she's still weak and needs to rest." said the nurse.

Fitz nodded and they went back to mellie's room.

"I want to name him after my father. Jeffrey Nicholas…..Grant."

Fitz merely nodded as Mellie looked at him.

"You didn't want this baby." she said in an accusatory tone. fresh tears were in her eyes mingled with a little anger.

fitz turned to look at her.

"No. I didn't Mel." he admitted. "But he's here and he's mine and despite the circumstances of how he was conceived i do love him. he's my son."

they both looked at each other just then. mellie could tell that he was sincere when he just spoke and fitz could tell that she was in a panic and feeling unsure. two emotions she wasn't really used to feeling. she always had to be in control, never wanted to be vulnerable. how did they get here? where the hell would they go from here?

Liv sat opposite Peter Carmichael at dinner later that night. he'd taken her to Marcel's on Pensylvania Ave. the entire night he'd been quite the charmer, smooth talker and very much a flirt. she returned his banter, smiled and laughed when the appropriate time came but mentally she was elsewhere. of course she hid that very well, she was a pro at that.

he asked her about her background, family, education all the usual stuff. but predictably the conversation drifted towards the romantic and the age old question of how a woman such as herself was still single.

she smiled at that, "I laugh at that question. if i were you, if i were a man, no one would even think to ask that. do you feel as compelled to 'settle down' and have children? i'm really career driven you know. my life is anything but normal so i don't really feel the need to 'be normal' or date."

"I call bullshit. i'm sure there was someone you must have had feelings for, at sometime. there's no way you can convince me you've never been in love."

at that moment she thought of Fitz. she remembered waking up next to him after they'd first been together. she remembered feeling so in love with him back then even though she was sure getting involved with a married man had been a terrible mistake. she took a sip of her red wine. but Pete was very astute and that brief flicker in her eye wasn't lost on him.

"Ah i see i'm not that far off base. there was someone. is someone?"

she didn't answer.

the rest of the evening was interesting. Pete continued to be the perfect gentleman while never letting her forget that he wanted to pursue something other than business with her.

it was two hours later when they got into his car and they began the drive to her house.

she stared out the window her mind literally miles away.

"you know what i think, ms pope?" he said and she focused her eyes on him cocking her head to one side.

"I think you don't give your heart away too easily, nor your trust or confidence. so when you do it's only to someone you feel is very deserving of it. when you love, you love hard but you don't love easy."

"And what makes you such an expert on me?"

"Because i see myself in you. i see that deep down as much as you love power and position, you revel in it in fact…..deep down you do want to be loved. and you do want to love someone. but you're looking for your equal."

Liv smiled. he was right on more than a few points about her. but she didn't see this going beyond their business dealings.

he moved closer to her and trailed his index finger on the side of his face.

"Pete…."

he interrupted her with a kiss. a slow one, not demanding at all. his lips were soft, gentle, not at all like Fitz who's kisses were nothing but consuming. he pulled back looking into her eyes.

"I believe i'm your equal, Olivia. you just have to give me a chance." he said smiling down at her.

what was olivia going to do? this had gone way past professional.


	6. Closing the Gap Part 5

"…there was nothing more that we could do to control the tension in his chest cause by the leakage. his other lung collapsed….I'm sorry, Mr. President….he didn't make it." Dr. Sandbridge's voice was filled with regret, but his face was resolute as he gave the sad news.

Fitz's heart sank at his words. it had been two days since the doctors had tried to release some of the air in jeffrey's chest, and even though it never looked good he had hoped he would survive. he took mellie in his arms while she sobbed over the loss of their baby. and he himself began to cry. he rocked her and stroked her back and held her until she calmed down a bit.

he felt such a sadness. and a bit of guilt too. this poor child had been conceived under the worst of circumstances out of a necessity, not out of love. and now he was gone. how could he forgive himself?

"mel, i'm sorry."

she nodded her head. "I'm sorry too Fitz." she looked at him, tears in her eyes and held his hand.

"I guess we have to make a statement. You'll have to do it. and we have all sorts of calls to make…..I'll need to call my family and…." her voice was broken, hoarse, mournful.

just then Cyrus walked in. he expressed his condolences to them both.

"Thank you, Cy."

He asked Fitz what he needed. as mellie had said the nation needed to be addressed. and arrangements needed to be made regarding the funeral and the G8 Summit. obviously fitz would not be able to attend. they would have to send Sally to take his place. a few members of Fitz's staff gathered and they had a brief meeting. Fitz wanted Jeffrey to be buried in Santa Barbara. it was decided that Mellie would leave along with Gerry and Karen first thing the following morning to go there and make all the arrangements. he would brief Sally on everything for the G8 summit then leave for Santa Barbara in 2 days. the funeral would be held next Tuesday. Cyrus would see to all the details. he felt exhausted. he felt incredibly sad and empty. and he felt terribly alone.

Liv sat in her office sipping some green tea. she was finishing up a meeting with Stephen.

"Well looks like the Carmichael deal is just about done. the finishing touches on the contract for the community center are about to go through. he should have the clearance to start building by the end of next week." he said.

"Yes. thankfully. this one was very tedious, Stephen. good work from you. once again."

"This one got a little personal though, Liv."

"sometimes you're a bit too observant my friend." she replied. "Yes it has gotten personal, but it's nothing i can't handle."

truth be told, Liv didn't know what it was that was happening between her and Pete, and she wasn't quite sure how she was planning on handling it. thankfully he was leaving town tonight for a business meeting in New York and he'd be there through mid next week. she'd successfully evaded his overtures for the past two days and other attempts at being physical with her, but she knew that he wasn't the type of man who would be put off for very long. to make matters worse he was friends with Fitz and had known him for quite some time. if fitz found out about their 'date' and him kissing her that could only exacerbate things between them. her thoughts were interrupted by the breaking news story on CNN which she glimpsed on the tv in her office. she turned up the volume to listen to the president who was just beginning an national address. her heart was in her throat. she held her breath as she listened his speech and he confirmed her worst fears. the baby hadn't survived and the funeral was planned for next Tuesday. fitz thanked the american people for their support during this difficult time and asked the first family be kept in everyone's thoughts and prayers.

"Oh God." she said quietly. her first concern was Fitz. she HAD to go to him. she HAD to see how he was doing. stephen looked in her direction, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Liv…do you really think it's a good idea?"

her bag was already on her shoulder, and she was shrugging her coat on.

"Probably not, but i have to go."

she thought about her last conversation with Cyrus and his warning for her to stay away. he would have to physically remove her from the hospital to keep her away from Fitz if he didn't want her there.

when she got onto Mellie's floor he was in another meeting with his staff and she waited outside to see him. just then she heard Pete's voice behind her. she swung round to see him walking towards her. she silently swore but put a smile on her face.

"Pete what are you doing here?"

"Quinn told me where you were, i was at your office looking for you. i figured i would come over to see you and talk to fitz before i left for new york."

"Oh, ok. well you'll be glad to know you should be all clear by the end of next week."

"That's not really why i came over. Olivia i want you to come with me to new york. we could spend some time together, get to know each other." he ran his hands up and down her arms.

"Pete I have a lot going on at the office. i couldn't possibly leave to go anywhere right now and this really isn't a good time or place to discuss this. why don't you call me when you….." she stopped talking because suddenly two things happened. fitz came out of his meeting and was walking towards her. and as he did so Pete had moved his hand off her arm and entertwined his fingers with hers in an extremely familiar way.

Olivia was mortified.

the sight of Pete holding her hand, stopped Fitz cold. he felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. he was reeling. just 3 days ago he'd believed her when she said she loved him. what was he supposed to believe now?


	7. Closing the Gap Part 6

the family residence at the white house was silent. fitz sat alone on the sofa in the living room, staring at the television even though it was on mute. he sipped on a glass of scotch and crossed his legs. he felt the beginnings of a headache coming on.

it had been a long day. earlier that morning he'd seen mellie and the kids off at the airport intending to join them in two days. he'd been in meetings with sally until noon, then she flew out to Chicago to represent him at the G8 Summit. other last minute things had to be dealt with before he left. it wasn't until a little after 8pm that he finally made it back to the residence. he intended to do nothing but drink himself to sleep.

he wanted to be as numb as possible so he wouldn't have to think about the pain he felt, was still feeling at the sight of liv and pete yesterday. they'd looked so familiar. hands holding, fingers touching, so intimate. his heart was broken. he felt hopeless. he'd stumbled through a conversation with pete. heard his condolences about little Jeffrey but he pretty much didn't hear a word. the whole time pete was talking he watched Cy approach olivia and what followed between them didn't appear to be a polite conversation. it ended with liv leaving once again, probably because Cy forced her to.

he was so sick of his life being handled. by everyone. by liv, mellie, cyrus. it was as if his life wasn't his own. he always had to do what was right, what was expected of him. never what he truly wanted to do.

he raised the scotch to his lips and downed the rest of it. he got up to pour himself another.

there was a knock on the front door. he went to answer it. it was Hal.

'You have a visitor, sir.' he said. and stepped aside to reveal Liv standing in the back of him. he silently let her in and said thank you to Hal.

they regarded each other in silence. Liv noticed the glass in his hand and wondered how much he had to drink so far.

"Fitz…..i'm so sorry about your son….i wanted to see you sooner but…" she moved towards him. "How are you?"

he walked out of her reach.

"Whats going on between you and Peter Olivia?"

"Nothing….."

"I saw you two yesterday at the hospital. it didn't look like it was nothing. what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on Fitz."

"Did you go out with him?"

she didn't answer. not right away.

"Did you go out with him Olivia?"

"…Fitz…."

"Answer me."

"….yes i did."

he let out a long breath and ran his fingers through his hair. he walked towards her till he was less than a foot away. he stared down into her eyes.

"Did you…have you…" he searched her eyes, not wanting to finish his sentence.

she shook her head. "No i haven't."

"something happened Liv. i know that something happened. he wouldn't hold your hand like that. or look at you like that or think that he had liberty to touch you like that if something didn't happen."

he stormed off and went to stand near a window. "Don't lie to me. Just tell me the truth. you came to the hospital and you told me that you loved me."

"…I do….."

"…but days later you show up with Pete and he's touching you like the two of you have been together and i'm wondering if it was all a lie."

"It wasn't a lie…i didn't show up with him, i came to see you. he came there afterwards."

"How do you feel about him?"

"He's just my client."

"Olivia…."

"He kissed me. Okay? he kissed me."

this was more than Fitz could stand. the thought of Pete touching her, kissing her….he felt like his world was crashing. even if she did still love him, she had no obligation to stay single forever. a part of him knew one day she might decide to move on. but he never allowed himself to think about how that would make him feel. he was devastated in a way he couldn't explain.

"How do you feel about him?"

"I don't feel anything for him. He's a CLIENT fitz…nothing more…I…I still love you."

"Why'd you make the deal with Mellie?" he was still at the window with his back turned not looking at her. as jealous as he was about Pete he still wouldn't let her in. he was still hurt, still angry over the decision she made months ago.

"Fitz i want to be with you… more than anything. but….not at the risk of your presidency. you fought hard to get where you are, we both did. in a perfect world we could ride off into the sunset together, but i couldn't let you give all that up without a fight."

he swung round to face her.

"None of that mattered to me. don't you understand that?"

she nodded. "I know." she took the glass out of his hand and rested it on the table next to him.

she stood in front of him and placed her palms on his face.

"Let me in."

he looked away.

she kissed him. "I love you." she whispered and kissed him again.

he didn't respond.

she kissed him again. "I love you." she said again.

a kiss again and this time she put her arms around his neck.

"I love you." she said once more and let her face touch his. they were so close, mouths touching, she could feel his breath on her face.

"Fitz….." she said running her hands through his hair. she heard him take a sharp breath inwardly. and softly, ever so softly his lips touched hers back.


	8. Crossing Over

with every tiny, sweet, torturous kiss, fitz could feel his steely resolve fading away. her fingers were in his hair, arms around his neck and her face was so close to his. she awakened something inside him that had felt dead for so long. he touched his lips to hers ever so softly and kissed her back, lingering on her mouth. he let out a soft groan and deepened his kiss. his hands went around her waist pulling her closer, melding her body to his own. with one swift move he picked her up, mashing her against the full length of him. she moaned and wrapper her legs around his waist.

fitz held her just so and took several strides towards one of the guest bedrooms. there was a soft sliver of light coming through the windwo from outside. he put her down and kissed her neck while his hands found their way under her blouse touching her bare skin. he unbuttoned her blouse and discarded the fabric on the floor. liv slipped out of her bra. at the sight of her breasts he could feel himself growing hard, his erection straining against his pants. his hands were at her waist again and his fingers began to explore the skin just under her pants. he unfastened the buttons at the front and undid the zipper. he pulled down her pants till she stood in nothing but her panties.

they stared at each other. God she was beautiful, he thought. and she's mine. he knelt before her, trailing wet kisses on her stomach, rubbing his hands on her thighs and over her butt. then he went lower and kissed her through her panties. liv felt weak with pleasure and put her hands on his shoulders for support. he continued his sweet torture using his hands, his tongue against her. he grabbed at the tiny fabric till they ripped under his strength. she was wet on his tongue. he played her like an instrument, tasting her, taking her to places she never dreamed. he loved her scent, and pulled her even closer till her leg was almost over his shoulder.

liv felt like she would black out and she screamed as she came. she collapsed against him and he held her for a few seconds. then he picked her up and placed her on the bed. in the darkness liv could hear the sound of him getting undressed. she was anxious to have him near her again. desperate for his touch.

he lay on top of her kissing her, plunging his tongue in her mouth and she returned every fiery kiss with her own. with every kiss it was like he was marking her, claiming her as his own.

"I'm sorry Liv." he said. normally he didn't rush their lovemaking but it had been so long. "I can't wait."

they both gasped when he entered her. it was a swift and powerful stroke sending strong pulses of pleasure through them both. he fit her so perfectly like putting on a warm glove. it was like lightning was moving through her and over her body. liv clawed at his back as he stroked deeper and deeper and she wrapped her legs around him. he looked down on her, loving the pleasure he saw on her face. he buried his face in her neck and murmured..

"…my sweet baby…"

he moved faster now, and with more urgency. he wanted to close the distance that had come between them. if he could, he would join their bodies together so they could never be separated again. he put his hands under her butt, pulling her closer to meet his thrusts. she felt so good, even better than he remembered. he felt like he was home. he never wanted to let her go again. he wouldn't. not this time. he loved her so much.

"I love you." said Liv as if reading his mind. his heart turned over. and he looked into her eyes.

"Say it again." he whispered

"I love you." she obeyed knowing he needed to hear it.

"Say it again…."

"I love you….."

she moaned in pleasure and minutes later he joined her in ecstasy.

they lay in silence holding onto each other. hands, legs, hearts intertwined, feeling utterly spent.


	9. Just Like Home

Liv didn't know when she'd fallen asleep but her eyes fluttered open when she felt the slight graze of Fitz's mouth on her shoulder and she came out of her passion induced slumber. a soft smile was on her lips, right before his left her shoulder and descended onto her own. she turned to face him and he cupped her face in his hand continuing his exploration of her mouth with his tongue.

she let out a breathy moan as his hand moved from her face and rested on her breast where he played with her hardened nipple. he slid his tongue over it, teasing her, watching her, enjoying the soft sounds she was making because of his touch.

before he had rushed their foreplay, this time he intended to linger on it. it seemed he spent an eternity, touching, probing, exploring, making olivia writhe in desire underneath his skilled hands. it was the sweetest torment. it was what she had been missing all this time they were apart. and when she couldn't take it any longer, he made love to her with such a passion, olivia felt she wanted to stay in this moment of intense pleasure forever.

a while later he still held her close, still not wanting to let go of her, wishing he could make time stand still.

she was the first to break the silence.

"I'm sorry about…so many things, Fitz."

"I'm sorry about a lot of things too, Liv. We can't keep doing this. We can't keep hurting each other."

"I…"

"I know what you're thinking. The wheels are turning in your head right now. and you're wondering if you should have come here at all."

"No." She said vehemently shaking her head. "No. If there's anything i don't regret, it's coming here tonight. I'm just not sure, how…..or where we're supposed to go from here. It's still an impossible situation."

"It doesn't have to be. I want you in my life, Liv. I still want you. I'm ready to walk away. Right now." he stroked her face gently.

"You just lost your baby, Mellie almost died…..it's impossible. What will the country think if you did that?"

"Let the country think of me what it wants. Your opinion is the only one that matters to me."

"We'd never have a normal life, our careers would be over, your children will hate you along with the general public."

he sighed, knowing she was right.

"I'm not going to lose you again, Liv. I'm not allowing you to walk out on me again. This time I'll come after you if you do."

Liv looked at him and smiled. she touched his face and kissed him.

"Fitz….."

"We'll figure this out, Liv….._**together**_."

Two hours later she was dressed and Fitz was walking her out front. he kissed her goodbye softly and opened the door to tell the Secret Service agent to have someone walk her to her car.

it was a little after 5am, he didn't expect to see anyone in the halls besides his Secret Service detail, but there was Cyrus walking towards the residence's front door. upon seeing Liv exiting, he cast a disapproving eye on her and an annoyed one at Fitz.

"Goodbye Liv." Fitz said and let Cyrus in, fully expecting what was sure to be an interesting conversation to say the least.

he cut on one of the lamps in the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Cyrus screamed.

"Do you have any idea the fallout that could happen if the press corp saw her coming out of your residence at this hour of the morning? Your wife just went through a difficult pregnancy, you lost your newborn baby just _**yesterday**_ and a day later, you're slumming it with your mistress?"

"Cy, you know, I am fed up with you reducing what I had with Liv into some tawdry cheap affair. you told me once that I didn't trust you, and you were right. I couldn't trust you enough to tell you about us. the minute you found out about me and Liv you have done nothing but belittle her and disrespect me….."

his voice was low and lethal, a tone that he seldom used unless he was really angry.

"Do you have any idea….."

"I wasn't finished." Fitz interrupted before Cyrus could go any further. "Olivia is a part of my life and will continue to be, whether you like it or not. She is not my mistress, she is not someone i had a meaningless fling with. She is someone that I care about and that I love deeply. she is the only woman that I have ever loved and will ever love, do you understand that?"

He was on his feet now and stood directly in front of Cyrus.

"I will not allow you to manipulate her anymore into thinking the best thing she can do for me is to stay away from me. those days are over. And Cy you will show me the respect I deserve as your Commander in Chief is that understood?"

the look he levelled at Cyrus demanded that he agree. Cyrus curtly nodded his head.

"Now whatever it is you came to talk to me about unless it has to do with Mellie or the kids, it can wait. I'm going back to bed, I'll be in my office in about 2 hours.

With Cyrus gone, Fitz felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. he settled into the bed in the guest room, the sheets smelled of Livi and their lovemaking. for the first time in months, he had a clarity like he couldn't describe. he was glad that Liv had come over, that she had been persistent in seeing him despite being pushed away by Cyrus. he knew it had taken a lot for her to come here, to decide to go against what she thought was right. he realized how much he loved her and now he was even more sure of her love for him.

Another thing he was absolutely sure of, was that he was determined to do whatever it took to get her not to change her mind about making a life with him. and whatever he needed to do, he had to do it fast.


	10. Closing the Gap Part 9 Between Friends

**_Before you guys read, i just wanted to say thanks for all the positive reviews you guys have left and thanks so much for checking it out. this story started out on tumblr as probably a 3 parter, but as you can see it's turned into something more. i love scandal, i love the characters and i hope i can give fitz and olivia the happy ending they both deserve. oh before i forget, one of the reviews i got said that it was distracting because my sentences didn't all start with capital letters. i'm sorry it's a bad habit i've developed for the internet for years so, hopefully it doesn't bother you too much you don't enjoy the story. ok thats it, carry on and enjoy!_**

It was 10pm at night. Olivia was at her desk finishing up some last minute paperwork for the Peter Carmichael deal and she felt a little tired. she rubbed her fingers over the back of her neck and briefly closed her eyes. everyone was gone for the day except for Huck who was in his office doing some work of his own. the place was quiet except for the hum from the air conditioning and huck's clacking on his keyboard.

her mind was on fitz and not this paperwork. she smiled thinking of him, thinking of being in his arms again, being near him again. she hadn't been with Fitz since weeks before she resigned from her job at the White House. it seemed an eternity. being with him made her realize just how much she had missed him. being with him had felt like going home. being with him felt incredibly right.

But then she thought of mellie…and jeffrey and gerry and karen. it would never work. It couldn't work. Wasn't that why she left the White House? the fact that their relationship was nothing but a dead end? fitz said that they would figure it out, but Olivia wasn't sure that they could.

"I'm heading out now, Liv. are you leaving too?" her head shot up at the sound of Huck's voice. she smiled at him.

"Probably in about another half hour or so."

"Right, i'll call you back to check on you, make sure you don't sleep here." he said and closed her office door.

A few short minutes later her door reopened but instead of Huck, Cyrus walked inside. Huck stood at the door looking at er making sure she was ok with this late night visitor. She loved that he was protective of her and smiled.

"Its ok Huck, it's only Cyrus." she said and invited him to sit.

he did, and the teacher and his student silenty regarded each other. Olivia knew Cyrus well. she knew his tricks and his tactics, so she knew his being silent was not because he didn't know what to say.

_**silently regard your enemy**_. it unnerves them he once told her. but was she his enemy now?

"i remember the first time i saw you olivia. way back then i knew you were special. i knew you were going to be great. you learned quickly, every trick, every tactic, every maneuver you could from me. you had the skill, the drive, the determination, like i had never seen in any of my students. you didn't fold or buckle under pressure, in fact you thrived in it. you rose to every challenge i ever placed before you. you were my best pupil."

**_flatter your enemy_**, she thought and a half smile crossed her lips.

"Cyrus…."

"I trusted you Liv. and i believed in you. I believed in Fitzgerald Grant. i believed that he could be a good leader. a great leader who would do great things for this nation. a president we could all be proud to work for. together we did it. we made him the man that he is today. i just don't understand how you could let me down the way you did."

Olivia watched his expression change with every word. and she was startled to find that his face held a look of …disappointment and betrayal.

"How did i let you down Cyrus?" she was confused.

"You allowed yourself to become emotionally involved Olivia! That's not why i brought you on. I trusted you and you betrayed me. you carried on with him, the both of you behind my back. and you kept it hidden from me for years."

"Cyrus ….what happened between me and Fitz….it wasn't planned. it just happened. there was no betrayal. we fell in love."

"Don't give me that, Liv! What do you think is going to come out of this? Do you think you're both going to ride off into the sunset and make a life together while the country is torn to pieces? What about his children, what about his wife? What kind of a career do you expect he's going to have after it all comes out…..and what of Pope & Associates? you think you'll have any sort of credibility after your relationship with Fitz becomes public? Come on I taught you better than that!"

_**shatter your enemy's resolve**_, she thought. but somehow his words cut her deep.

"You have to be realistic. despite what you two….feel for each other. it doesn't matter. it's not important. Fitz doing his duty to his country…..that's important. that matters. he's a married man and he's got two children and he's got a country to run."

"Cyrus, Fitz and I will decide…"

he got up and paced in front of her desk.

"I don't doubt that he loves you. you stayed away before, you can do it again. i said you were like a daughter to me, more than just a student or a friend…..i meant that. i truly did. but i will protect the President. in any way that i have to. i don't want to go to war with you again Liv. but i will if i have to."

he walked towards the door and paused after opening it.

"I don't think you should come to the funeral. send some flowers. a nice card or whatever…..but don't show up in Santa Barbara. I mean it Liv."


	11. Closing the Gap Part 10 When In Doubt

It was almost midnight and Fitz had just gotten off the phone with Mel. She was doing much better and had been resting in bed for the past two days. He spent some time catching up with Gerry and Karen. Both of them were a little sad that Jeffrey hadn't survived but they were dealing with it in their own way. He wished he could be there to comfort and hold them right now. He couldn't wait to see them. They hadn't taken a family trip together for a while. Maybe it was time for them to go to Camp David and spend a few days there just to get away and spend time with each other. He smiled at that.

Even though they had gone back to Santa Barbara because of a tragedy, the kids were glad to be back in familiar surroundings. Karen was already riding again; spending most of her time at the stables with Duchess, the mare Fitz had given her a little over three years ago. Gerry was having fun catching up with old friends.

Fitz thought about Jeffrey then. He'd never see him take his first steps or cut his first teeth. He wouldn't see him grow up, go to college or become a man. Was his death a punishment for their sins? The ones he and Mel had committed to get into and stay in the White House? Mel had schemed along with Olivia to get what she wanted; to remain First Lady. Thinking about it, he realized it had to have been Cyrus and Mellie who'd changed Liv's mind and caused her to change her mind about them.

No that wasn't entirely true. Mellie couldn't have gotten away with what he didn't allow. He realized he had let himself be manipulated and pushed around for a really long time. Instead of going along with Mel's plan to have another child, he should have refused. Truth was he felt defeated after it was clear Liv didn't want to be with him anymore. What sense was there left in fighting if there wasn't something to fight for?

Liv…

He'd never met anyone like her before. She literally changed his life the minute she joined his campaign. At first he was extremely attracted to her physically but later he fell desperately in love with her. They had experienced their own piece of heaven for such a short time, and then she had left him. Gone. Gone suddenly and he was utterly unhappy. He wouldn't let her go again.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 12:30am. It was late, but he wanted to hear her voice. He picked up the phone again and dialed her number.

"Hi." She answered.

"Did I wake you?"

"You didn't." He could hear a smile in her voice.

"I missed you today."

"Did you, now?"

"Mmm hmmm….Thought about you all day, I could barely concentrate. I swear Mrs. Hanley looked at me sideways when I dictated the same line to her about four times for a letter twice today."

She laughed and it was music to Fitz's ears. It made him content to just hear her voice over the phone.

"And I can just imagine the look on her poor face."

"Yeah…I think I emailed a YouTube video in response to an invitation to speak at a Veteran's and Military Families Charity Function and sent a report on Literacy to my sister in California."

"You didn't!"

"I swear, you drive me to distraction Ms. Pope. You're a danger to those around you."

They both laughed together.

"Oh I miss you Liv."

"I miss you too." She said quietly.

"I wish I was next to you so I could hold you and touch you. I miss having you next to me, in my arms, lying underneath me. I miss being inside you."

His voice was low and deep.

"Why aren't you here Liv? Why aren't we together right now?"

"But we are, Fitz. We are together, emotionally, mentally, the way that it matters. The rest…..will work itself out." She said but her words didn't hold the conviction she felt.

"Is something wrong?" Fitz asked sensing that something was amiss.

"Don't be silly." She said trying to brush it off.

"Livi, we have to be honest with each other from now on. No more lies and no more secrets. What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Cyrus came to see me tonight. And we had…a conversation about things."

Fitz inhaled and exhaled sharply.

"He said…..he put some things into perspective….."

"Olivia, obviously Cyrus has his own agenda. No other perspective matters except ours."

"This is just like it was months ago, with Billy Chambers. I keep thinking about you, being president, being Mellie's husband, your children….."

"That is Cyrus talking, not you."

"Maybe….."

"Liv, stop it. I won't hear anymore maybe's about us. That's it, I'm done and so are you. Now when will you get to Santa Barbara?"

She was silent and didn't respond right away thinking of Cyrus and his warning to stay away. She wanted to be there for Fitz and she wouldn't let him stop her.

"Liv the funeral is on Tuesday and I want you there. If you don't come to pay your respects I will never forgive you." He insisted.

"I will be there Fitz. I was planning on getting there by Monday evening."

"Good. I'm headed out tomorrow morning early. Most of my family is already there. So is Mel's. I talked to the kids tonight."

"How are they doing? How is Mellie?"

"Mel is doing better. She's resting for the most part. The kids are handling it pretty well. They're glad to be back at the ranch. I must admit I'm a bit happy to be going home too despite circumstances being what they are."

"I'm sorry you and Mel had to go through this. It's the worst thing a couple can endure."

"I feel better knowing Jeffrey will be buried back home with family…. It's just…"

They were both silent for a minute.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you so much, Liv. I can't wait to see you, to hold you again."

"Me too. Go on. You need to go to sleep."

"I know. Call us when you get in. We'll be at the ranch. Let me know you got in safely."

"Okay, I will."

"Promise me?"

"I promise."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight baby."


	12. CTG Part 11 Rock and a Hard Place

"So you're going?" Asked Stephen. Liv was packing up her desk and was about to head to

the airport. She grabbed her overnight bag, her coat and purse and started for the

elevator.

"I'm going."

Stephen grabbed her bag and carried it for her. They stepped into the elevator together.

"Liv…." He started.

"Stephen I know what you're thinking, but trust me on this. It would be terrible of me not

to show up after I worked for the man for so long. We were friends, _**are**_ friends, and I have

to show my support that's all. I'll only be gone a few days. The community centre deal is

done and Peter Carmichael shouldn't be back until Friday. We're squared away."

"You know that's not what I mean." He said looking at her pointedly.

She exhaled slowly.

"Everything's under control, Stephen. Really. It'll be fine."

The elevator was now on the ground floor. They walked out of the building together and

Stephen helped her into a cab.

"Call me if you need anything." He said.

"I will. You do the same." She smiled at him and headed to the airport.

Hours later she was checked in at the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara and started to unpack.

It was almost 7pm. She flicked on the TV to watch the news. The funeral was among the

lead stories tonight and she paused what she was doing when a short interview of Fitz came

on. He looked a little withdrawn and tired. She wondered how he was doing. Tomorrow

was going to be a long day for him. For all of them. The service was going to be early,

starting at 10:30am at St. Luke's Catholic Church and little Jeffrey was going to be buried in

a small family plot at Great Calvary Cemetery. Afterwards there was going to be a small

gathering at the ranch with family, close friends and a few invited staff members. Liv

thought about a possible confrontation with Cyrus, but she knew Fitz would want her to be

there.

An hour later she'd had a shower and was dressed in her pajamas. A cheesy romance was

coming on TV and she reached for her phone to call Fitz.

Karen answered the phone, and Olivia let out a small sigh of relief.

"Hi Karen, how are you?"

"Olivia! It's so good to hear your voice. I'm doing fine. How have you been? Gosh it's been

so long. Gerry and I really miss seeing you around the White House. Are you going to be

coming to the funeral tomorrow? I really want to see you so we can catch up."

"Yes I'll be there. And I missed you both too. How is school? Are you dating yet?"

"No. You know dad won't let me near boys till I'm 16. Thankfully I've only got one more

year to go. "They both giggled together.

"I will tell you though, there's this cute guy named David. He's a senior, but I really like him.

We've been talking for a while now, but knowing dad…I don't know if he'll let me go out

with him." Karen whispered. Her voice was low now and it was as if she was talking to one

of her close friends from school and they were conspiring together. "It would probably take

a lot of convincing. Maybe you could help me with that?" Karen asked hopefully.

"I'll see what I can do." Olivia replied. "Speaking of your father, is he around anywhere?"

"Oh yeah. Let me go get him, hold on." Karen found Fitz alone in his office at the back of

the house. He had gone in there to get away for a bit and was thinking of the day ahead of

him tomorrow.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" He sad smiling at her.

"Phone for you dad. It's Olivia." She said handing him the phone before giving him some

privacy.

"Livi." Said Fitz, a smile on his mouth and in his voice.

"I just wanted to let you know I was here. I won't keep you long."

He was glad to hear that she had come. "Where are you staying?"

"I'm at The Four Seasons."

"Hmm, nice. What room are you in?"

"Room 402 but don't you dare come here." She warned.

"I'm very tempted to, even if only for a moment, but I won't."

"Good. Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as I can be. Hopefully it won't be the media circus it's shaping up to be. I wish it

could all be a private affair. Luckily there won't be any press at the ranch after the burial. I

want you there Liv."

"I will be. Goodnight Fitz."

"Goodnight."

The next time Olivia saw Fitz was at the service the next day. She stepped into St. Luke's

wearing a one buttoned black jacket and pants from Michael Kors with an almond sequined

tank underneath. She wore Bossa Nova pumps by Chinese Laundry and her black Prada bag

was on her shoulder. She took a seat at the far end of the church on the left.

Fitz and Mel along with the kids were seated up front. Various family members were also

close by, then the VP and her husband. Cyrus was also seated nearby along with other

immediate members of the President's staff.

Shortly before the service began, Liv saw Peter Carmichael looking extremely dashing in a

charcoal gray pinstripe suit and blue gray tie walking towards her. He smiled

and sat beside her.

"Hello Olivia." He said squeezing her hand.

Olivia inhaled sharply. Pete had a look in his eye that made her realize today was about to

get complicated.

At the gravesite he had stood beside her the whole time and when everyone was leaving he

rested his hand on the small of her back and led her away to the side; a sight that was not

lost on Fitz who briefly made eye contact with her then looked away as the family made

their way back to the limousines.

"How long are you in Santa Barbara for?" asked Pete.

"I'm leaving tomorrow evening actually, why?"

"I was wondering if you would join me for dinner tonight."

"Pete, I'm not sure. We're both going to the ranch, I'm sure there will be food there."

"Ok how about just some coffee then to talk."

"To talk?"

"Look, I feel like perhaps I was rushing you earlier. We went out and I kissed you. I feel as if

I might have scared you off which is the last thing I wanted to do. I was serious Olivia about

us getting to know each other. I want to spend some time with you. We can take it as

slowly as you want. I promise."

Olivia looked into his eyes. He wasn't the first man who had asked her out or tried to

pursue her since she had been with Fitz. But he was the first man who had been this

persistent after being rebuffed over and over again. She had to give him credit if only for

being determined. But what she wouldn't do is allow this idea of his that they were going

to be involved to continue. She agreed to meet up with him later for coffee and _**only**_ to

_**talk**_. She saw the look Fitz had given her and knew there would be damage control to do

later.

She rode with Pete in his car back at the ranch. He was admittedly good company and if she

wasn't terribly in love with Fitz she might have seriously considered going out with him. He

helped her out of the car, and as they walked towards the main house together, she came

face to face with Cyrus. She greeted him with a smile.

"Cyrus, hello."

"Olivia." He said in return, the look on his face showing that he was shocked that she defied

his wishes to stay away. But he knew this wasn't the time or the place to confront her

about it. She walked into the house and was greeted by the children who were happy to

see her. She hugged them both and was immediately asked a million questions.

Mellie walked over to rescue her.

"I'm so sorry about your loss, Mel." She said sincerely and hugged her. She had thought

that this moment would be awkward, but it wasn't. "How are you feeling? Are you up to all this right now?" She asked giving a half smile, one that Mellie returned.

"I'm doing much better but hopefully tonight doesn't drag on forever, I'm exhausted. Go get yourself something to eat. I'm going in the den to sit for a while."

"Ok."

"Mr. President." Said Pete and walked over to Fitz to talk. Olivia took that moment to go outside. She needed to be alone with her thoughts for a bit. She grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the servers and made her way outside to the stables out back. It had been a long while since she had been here. During the campaign whenever they were at the ranch she found the stables to be so quiet and relaxing.

She stood near the corral leaning on it and feeling the breeze on her face. She closed her eyes. The sound of people talking and laughing in the distance made her remember another gathering at the ranch except it was when Fitz had just won the election. She had come out here too that time and he had found her here late at night and they had shared a quiet moment together. She smiled and heard footsteps behind her.

"I brought you something to eat." It was Pete. "Why are you out here alone?"

"I just wanted to get away from the crowd for a bit." She replied.

Just then unbeknownst to them both, Fitz had been making his way to see Liv. He had a feeling she'd be there but he was surprised and a little upset to find here there with Peter. He decided to stick around and watched them from a distance. The scene seemed innocent enough, but as Pete was leaving he heard him say 'See you later tonight.' What the hell was going on?

He waited till Pete had left then walked over to Liv. She swung round and saw him walking towards her. She smiled at him.

"Fitz you know you should be inside with Mellie and your family."

"And if I was I guess I would have missed that little exchange between you and Pete wouldn't I?"

She wanted to touch him, kiss him right now but she couldn't. Instead she answered him calmly.

"There's absolutely nothing going on with me and Pete. I assured you about this before."

"Then why are you going to see him later?"

"I'm meeting him for coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Fitz, you have to realize the man is my client. Now as flattering and sweet as this is that you're jealous, you need to trust me. "

"I do. It's just that…you just came back into my life and I don't want to lose you again, especially to someone else."

"You won't."

"When are you leaving?" He asked her.

"Tomorrow evening." She looked up into his eyes and she could see he wanted her.

"I want to see you. Room 402?" He came to stand beside her and slowly touched her hand locking his fingers with hers. Olivia slowly licked her lips thinking of the last time they were together. She wanted him too but wondered about propriety.

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Probably not." He turned to face her. "But then again, neither is this…"

She looked up at him quizzically, right before he pulled her close and quickly kissed her. Her body began to respond to him, but Liv gently pushed him away looking around.

"Fitz…"

"Later." He promised and walked away heading back to the house.


	13. CTG Part 12 Crossing the Line

Olivia bit into her red velvet cupcake enjoying the first taste of the decadent dessert. She sat next to Pete on a surprisingly plush red sofa in a small coffee shop near her hotel. He was regaling her with stories of his son Daniel who had followed in his footsteps and gone to Harvard just like his father. His eyes beamed with paternal pride as he talked about the boy, she could tell that they were close.

Pete had taken his jacket and tie off and undid the top button of his shirt. He'd rolled up his sleeves and Liv stared at a light brown tendril of hair that fell over his forehead. He seemed quite comfortable in his surroundings and quite comfortable around her. She had to admit once again that this man was very attractive, but she knew what she had to do.

She put her coffee cup down and looked at him, her body turned in his direction.

"Pete, you are am amazing man. You're intelligent; you've got a great personality…."

"Let's not forget stunningly handsome." He interrupted with a sly grin.

"Right! Stunningly handsome!" agreed Liv and laughed for a bit.

"But we can't do this." She shook her head. "I can't do this."

Pete sighed.

"You know after my divorce I swore off marriage. I said I was never going to get married again. So I had one meaningless relationship after another. I told myself I was happy and for a while I believed it. But then I met you and I thought I saw something in you, a kindred spirit almost…..I really thought we may have connected."

"Pete, believe me I'm not capable of giving you what you're looking for…" Olivia thought of Fitz just then.

"Your heart is elsewhere." He concluded. "Don't deny it." He said when she started to shake her head. "It's just like before when we first went out. I saw the look on your face then and I guessed. Now I know it's true. So is it some kind of unrequited love? Though I can't imagine a man not loving you in return."

"No it…. it's not that. It's just an impossible situation." She replied.

"Come on now, you're Olivia Pope. Since when did the word 'impossible' fit into your vocabulary?"

0o0o0o0o0

it was 1:30am and Olivia was asleep in her room. The TV was on, though the sound was barely audible. It was raining and had been for the last hour. Drops beat against the window making sharp 'tinkling' sounds. They kept her in a deep slumber. She had given up on Fitz coming over as he'd promised and had fallen asleep.

There was a knock at the door. She didn't hear it at first, but then it came again. She groggily rubbed at her eyes and slowly moved out from under the covers. She opened the door slowly and Fitz walked in. he had on a black hooded jacket covering his head and most of his face. He was soaking wet and dripping. He came inside and closed the door behind him. Liv leaned against the wall and looked up at him while he quickly took his jacket off dropping it to the ground.

He stepped forward and stood in front of her, pressing his body into hers. He was already hard. Neither of them spoke. They didn't have to. They let their bodies speak what they needed to say.

A while later Fitz knew it was time to go, but before he left he needed to say a few things.

"We can't go on like this. Sneaking around, stealing time to be together. I'm sick of it."

"What do you mean?" asked Liv stroking his face.

"I mean I don't want to do this anymore with you."

Liv was becoming alarmed at his tone. She turned on one of the lamps and sat up in bed.

"Fitz **what** do you mean?"

"I mean that I want to be able to be in public with you, hold your hand if I want to, kiss you if I want to. I don't want to have to sneak to come and see you in the middle of the night and have to leave before someone catches us. "He looked up at her, her hair falling softly over her shoulder, she was gorgeous. He sweetly touched her face. "I've been thinking about it the last couple of days and I'm going to ask Mellie for a divorce."

"Fitz…."

"Hear me out, Liv."

"No you can't. it's career suicide. You can't get a divorce."

"It seems you're more concerned about my career as you put it than I am. I don't want to be president if it means I can't have you in my life. "

Liv shook her head.

"I won't let you do it."

"My decision is made. I'm not going to run a second term. I have a little over a year in this one, I'll finish it and I won't seek reelection."

"What about Mellie? What about your kids? What about Cyrus?"

"Liv…..remember we agreed we would figure this out together. Forget about anything and everything else. What it comes down to, is do you love me and do you really want to be with me? I am tired of being in a loveless marriage living out someone else's dream. Cyrus doesn't matter. It'll probably be hard for the kids, but they will eventually adjust. I need you Liv. It's time for you to decide. It's now or never. Are you in this with me?"

Olivia didn't know what it was like to be normal. Normal meant being in a relationship, going out on dates, maybe eventually getting married and having kids. In theory she had always wanted normal. Fitz was offering it to her. It wasn't on a silver platter for sure. Normal for them would never come easily. Even if he didn't seek a second term and divorced Mellie it would still be a while before they could publicly come out as a couple. But the door would finally be open for them to be together. And she would no longer feel such guilt over being in love with a married man. Fitz was right, when it came down to it; all she wanted was to be with him.

She threw her legs over his and sat on top of him. His hands rested on her butt, he loved the feeling of her on top of him. She bent over him sliding her tongue into his mouth and kissing him passionately. He grabbed her and turned her over till she was underneath him.

"You haven't given me your answer." He said pressing his body into hers. He hated that he had to go.

"My answer is yes. Now come here." She said grabbing his curls and pulling his lips onto hers once more.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Cyrus knew what he had to do and he had to do it fast. He spent the evening making calls to various contacts. People he only spoke to when he himself couldn't get his hands dirty and needed the highest level of discretion. His last call was about to set his plans in motion. Olivia didn't know it but her showing up to the funeral was her striking the first blow in what Cyrus now considered war. Ready or not, she was about to be hit. And this first strike of his was about to land hard.


	14. CTG Part 13 All's Fair

_**Can i just say i LIVE for the reviews of these chapters? You guys make me laugh and smile so much with your feedback. Hope you enjoy this latest installment.**_

Cyrus sat at his desk staring at a photo of Olivia. He had started an investigation before on her but as hard as Sanders Black had tried he couldn't find any dirt on her except her affair with Fitz on the trail. That piece of dirt was the only thing he couldn't use against her because it would destroy the President as much as it would destroy her. No, he thought, he couldn't directly take down Olivia, so he'd have to do it through those she held closest to her; the people who worked for her. He took out a photo of Harrison, then one of Abby. Olivia hated to see people hurt or in trouble. Perhaps creating trouble for them on a massive scale would change her mind about Fitz.

0o0o0o0

It was two weeks after the funeral and the media attention to the tragedy was beginning to die down. The first family was back in Washington and Olivia was back at the office. She had a new client come in just yesterday; a simple merger deal between two companies. The case was a referral by none other than Peter Carmichael. Apparently he'd been so impressed by her handling of his matter he'd told one of his business colleagues about it.

It had also been two weeks since Olivia had seen or heard from Fitz though she thought about him all the time and knew he was probably doing the same. His schedule for the last couple of days was very full. He'd had to travel to a few places and was locked down in meetings over a new piece of legislature he initiated. She missed him but hoped she might glimpse him in passing today. She got a call from the first lady's secretary asking her to come to the White House for a meeting with Mellie. She wondered what Mellie wanted to talk to her about.

Instead of meeting in her office, Olivia was taken up to the residence. The first lady was still resting per doctor's orders. Mellie greeted her and invited her to sit in the living room. For a brief moment Olivia remembered being in this room with Fitz right after Jeffrey died and the intimate moment they shared. She felt slight discomfort about sitting down in the exact same room with Mel.

"How are you?" she asked Mel.

"Well let's see, Olivia. I don't know if you recall, but you and I made a deal not so long ago about me taking my husband back."

"And you did Mel. Are you forgetting?"

"It seems like you're the one who's forgotten Olivia."

"Forgotten how?"

Mellie inhaled sharply. "Do you think I went through getting pregnant because I wanted another child? Lied on national television admitting to being the one on that tape with Fitz so that he could decide after everything I've done that he now wants out? You didn't do your part Olivia, you haven't held up your end of the bargain. What were you doing in Santa Barbara?"

"I came out of respect Mellie. If I hadn't it would have been a terrible slight against him."

"But a necessary one! The moment he saw you his resolve crumbled and he stopped being angry at you!"

_What the hell is going on?_ Liv thought. Something happened between Mellie and Fitz. She hadn't talked to him in a while so she wasn't properly prepared for this.

"Mellie…"

"He said he's not going to seek a second term. He said he wants a divorce. He wants to destroy everything we've worked for. You can't let that happen."

Mellie seemed almost frantic. Liv wasn't sure if it was because she'd just lost her son, but there was something different in Mel that she hadn't seen before. She seemed vulnerable. So it seemed Fitz told her his plans. She hadn't expected him to do it that quickly.

"You can only push a person into a corner for so long; eventually he's going to fight his way out. Believe me, if Fitz decides that he wants to resign, then that's what he'll do. There's nothing I can do to stop it."

"Yes there is, whether you want to or not. If he believes he no longer has a reason to resign, he'll change his mind."

Mellie got up and pulled a folder out of a small desk and handed it to Liv. Liv opened it only to stare at pictures of her and Peter taken while she was in Santa Barbara. She looked up at Mellie who was standing over her with a smirk on her face. The angles they were taken at made it appear to be much more than the innocent meeting it was. Their heads were close together, they leaned in towards each other when they spoke and Pete had touched her hand. The brief kiss on her cheek when he dropped her off at her hotel seemed incredibly intimate compared to the harmless good bye kiss it had actually been. If Fitz saw these….

"Haven't you learned by now that trying to manipulate Fitz doesn't work out for you in the end? You got pregnant to solidify your claim to be the one on the tape, and that worked for a time, but do you really think blackmailing me is going seal the deal?" Olivia stood up so they were both face to face. And she spoke with a calm that she was surprised she felt.

"The American people are very sympathetic to you right now, but I wonder how they would feel if they knew you faked a miscarriage on the campaign trail. We wouldn't want that to become public knowledge now would we?" Olivia reveled in the shock on Mel's face. She never guessed that Fitz would tell her. She picked up her purse and turned to leave but paused.

"You can show the photos to him if you want. I'd love to know how he reacts. Take care of yourself, Mel."

O0o0o0

Liv was hardly out of the White House when her cell phone rang. It was Abby.

"Liv, you need to get down to the State Attorney's office right now."

"What? Why? What's happened?"

"It's Harrison. David just picked him up for violating the terms of his probation. Stephen and I are heading over there right now."

"Violated them how Abby?"

"They're saying they found a huge deposit in a secret account he set up recently and they can link it to a recent IPO from Watters & Masterson."

"The new Oil and gas firm" She said recognizing the name.

"Yes and you know one of the terms of his probation is that he can't do any trading or profit from trading for 5 years."

"Right. Ok, I'll meet you both down there." Liv shook her head. She knew Harrison wouldn't do this. The brief time he spent in prison assured him that he didn't' want to go back. He would never jeopardize his probation terms. This had Cyrus written all over it. He really meant it when he said he wanted her to stay away from Fitz. A personal attack she could deal with, but her team….they'd been through enough.

She got into her car and drove to David's office. Her mind was in overdrive. She had to get Harrison out. Cyrus wanted to play hardball. She guessed that her showing up to the funeral and the ranch had caused him to put his plans in motion. Well she didn't plan to fall apart. She didn't plan to buckle. She wouldn't be counted out just yet. The first thing she would do is get Harrison out on bail and figure out where this account and money came from. The second thing she would do is launch her own attack against Cyrus. He wanted to play hardball, and she was more than willing to play this game.

0o0o0o0

"I don't have a secret account Liv. I have no idea where this money came from. I read about every IPO offered, it's what I used to do, so yes I always keep track of them. But I haven't purchased any shares; I haven't done any trading of any kind since my probation started." Said Harrison. His sleeves were rolled up, jacket and tie off, a look of frustration on his face. They all sat in the conference room going over the events of the day. It was midnight and they were all exhausted. All Harrison wanted to do was go home and forget this day ever happened.

"You know what? You guys go home, leave me and Harrison alone. Huck I want to talk to you later, you stay behind ok?"

"Are you sure?" asked Stephen?

"Yeah, we're fine." She said. When everyone filed out she sat next to Harrison.

"Liv…..I can't go back to prison."

"I won't let that happen. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"I won't let that happen."

"Where is this coming from? I have been clean. I haven't done any double deals, I have been clean. It's like this just came out of nowhere, Liv. It doesn't even make sense."

She didn't want to admit that he was being attacked because of her. She just wanted to make it go away as quickly as she could. She owed him that.

"I know it doesn't. But we're going to find out how it happened, and we'll take care of it**. **_**I will**_ _**take care of it**_. Now in the mean time, you go home and get some sleep. We have a client to take care of tomorrow; we're still working on that merger." She hugged him and shooed him out of the room.

Olivia took a deep breath then walked into Huck's office. He looked at her waiting for instructions.

"Huck I need you to dig deep on something. I need you to look into Cyrus Beene for me."

Huck didn't even blink. "What do you need?"

"Anything you can get on him that's dirty, really dirty and I need it fast. Can you do that?"

"I'm insulted that you asked me that. What about Harrison?"

"Track down where that deposit came from and who opened the account. We need to make this problem go away quickly. Find the source."

"No problem, I'll get back to you when I have word."

"Thank you, Huck." She said and went back into her office. This would be a long night.

0o0o0o0o0

It was 2am when Abby's cell phone rang. She'd just gotten to sleep a half hour ago and resented the shrill noise in her ear. She picked it up and answered groggily.

"Hello."

"Well hello Abby. It's been such a long time. So good to hear your voice."

Whatever sleep Abby felt immediately left and she bolted upright in bed.

"Who is this?" she asked, but in truth she already knew the answer.

"Come on sweetie, you don't recognize my voice?"

She swallowed hard…"Charles?"


	15. CTG Part 14 In Love and War

Almost a week later and Huck still hadn't found anything worth using on Cyrus. There were some questionable business deals he had made but nothing that could really stop him in his tracks. Olivia knew that they were running out of time. Since Harrison's arrest his accounts had been frozen leaving him with no access to his money at all and he couldn't travel. Huck was working feverishly looking for the person who opened those accounts. So far they were good at covering their tracks, but he was close to finding out who was behind it.

Olivia had instructed Abby to change her phone number after she heard from Charles a second time. He hadn't threatened her, but he had promised that he would find her soon. Charles had never wanted the divorce and he was evidently still sore about being publicly humiliated when his abuse had become public knowledge after they split up. Any doubt that Cyrus was trying to get to her through her team had vanished a long time ago.

She sat in her office watching CNN. A story with Fitz came on. He was in Detroit right now meeting with the heads of a few auto dealerships. She smiled at the sight of him. She missed him so much right now. Almost another week had passed and she still hadn't had any contact with him. She was bearing the brunt of Cyrus' and Mellie's rage. If there was a time she needed to hear his voice, it was now.

Just then Stephen walked in closing the door behind him. He saw that she was watching the President on the news and sat down in front of her.

"Everything ok, Liv?"

"Everything's fine Stephen."

"Liv, you can pretend with everyone else, but not with me. I know you, something's going on. What is it?"

Stephen was right, when it came to her; he could always tell when something was creeping right under the surface. Years of practice had made her a master of concealing her emotions, but Stephen could always see through her. He didn't always comment or acknowledge it but if necessary he wasn't afraid to ask if she needed him to listen.

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure? Are we going to pretend that Harrison conveniently violated his probation and Abby just happened to hear from her abusive husband after what? Three years?"

"Ex husband."

"Surely you don't believe this is all a coincidence? It can't be, not to have happened so suddenly and at the same time? What happens next? What should we expect to happen after this Olivia?"

"Stephen trust me…"

"It's not an issue of trust Liv. Of course we all trust you. We would do anything for you. You know exactly what's going on, but you tell us about it. We have a right to know. We should know who's going to be hit next so that we're prepared."

Truth was she didn't know Cyrus' next move. She could only guess that it could be against Quinn. If Cyrus found out who she was hiding from it would be catastrophic to say the least. That's why she had Huck working so hard to find something she could use to stop him. She didn't want to tell them all that this had nothing to do with them. If she told them the source of the attacks then she had to give them a reason why. And she wasn't prepared to tell them about her and Fitz.

"It's about him isn't it?" Stephen asked, looking at the TV.

Liv looked at him but didn't reply.

"Of course it's about him. After all this time?"

Stephen pulled his chair closer to her desk. He reached out and held her hand. He had deduced long ago that Liv had had an affair with the President. He accepted the fact that she was never able to confide in him about it. He had thought at first that it was a casual one but after Liv found out Amanda Tanner was possibly pregnant with the President's baby he realized how deeply Liv loved him. Letting him go was the hardest she probably had to do. Months later after not setting foot in the White House, it seemed they had found each other again. Stephen now realized the President loved Liv just as much as she loved him.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Because it won't be easy, for any of us. Is it really worth all this?"

His question caused Liv to remember something Cyrus said to her once.

_After you've destroyed your enemy, left him wounded and bleeding, taken away everything that they care about, there's only one question they have left to think about and that's 'Is it really worth all this trouble?'_

Cyrus wanted her to give up, throw in the towel, and forfeit the game. This time it wasn't just some game to her, it was her life. It was about her fighting for what she wanted. Cyrus had taught her well but he didn't realize that when you take away everything from your enemy he's got nothing else to lose by getting up and fighting back. Was what she and Fitz had worth all this? Was it worth fighting for?

"Yes." She replied looking Stephen in the eye. "Yes it is."

3am Liv's Apartment

Liv walked out of the kitchen, glass of red wine in one hand and a small bowl of grapes in the other. She pulled her blanket onto her lap and continued watching her movie. She couldn't get to sleep, hadn't slept that much for the past three days. She took a sip of red wine when her cell phone rang. She didn't recognize the number on the caller ID.

"Pope." She answered.

"So official at 3 in the morning?" Asked a familiar voice.

"Fitz." She breathed into the phone.

"I know…..I know it's late. I was going to wait till tomorrow to call, but…..I just had to talk to you. I'm sorry it's taken this long." His voice sounded tired and heavy with sleep.

"It's ok. I….I miss you so much."

"Hmmm…not as much as I miss you. How've you been?"

If he only knew what the last two weeks had been like he would only be angry, at both Cyrus and Mellie. Then he would be worried about her. She wouldn't say anything to him about it, not just yet.

"Liv?" He said when she didn't answer right away.

"I'm fine, Fitz, now that I hear your voice. When are you coming back to Washington?"

"I'm going to be here for another two days then off to Chicago for a meeting, but I should be back in D.C. by Saturday. "

"Ok." She anticipated he'd have another busy week ahead of him. It might be a while before they would see each other.

"Liv no matter what I have to do, I'm coming to see you. Ok? I promise you."

4:30am Pope & Associates

Huck looked at his computer screen and took a bite out of his tuna sandwich. He'd been looking through Cyrus' bank accounts for the past hour. Suddenly he saw a large transfer made to another account about 9 months ago. He scrolled down and saw another transfer of the same amount made to the exact same account number.

Another half hour yielded some positive results; he had the name of the account holder. To his surprise it was none other than his old friend and mentor; Charlie Manson. Huck thought back to the last conversation they had.

"…_he can talk all he wants, he didn't hire me to do that job."_

Charlie said referring to Billy Chambers.

Huck smiled. Could Cyrus have been the one who hired Charlie to kill Amanda? He shut off his PC and got up to leave. It was time to pay his old friend a visit.


	16. CTG Part 15 Push and Pull

_**A/N K so this one holds a surprising scene between Fitz and Mellie that i felt was necessary to add so we could see the dynamic in their relationship. I thought it was interesting. Hope you do too. And thanks again for all the great reviews. I love you guys.**_

Fitz wrapped his burgundy scarf around his neck and fastened the buttons on his coat. He walked off of the last step of Marine 1 and took a swift look around. The weather had changed in Chicago and there was a biting chill in the air. A small amount of press had gathered. He smiled and he waved at them before getting into his car. His Senior Domestic Policy Advisor and his Communications Director were already in there waiting for him waiting to talk about some last minute business that needed his attention but Fitz's mind was on the meeting he was heading to before checking in to his hotel.

He got to the restaurant shortly after 8pm and he was hungry. The maître d showed him to a secluded area where Peter Carmichael was already waiting for him.

"Mr. President." Said Pete and got up to shake his hand.

"Aw come on Pete. For God's sake just call me Fitz."

"It's good to see you, Fitz. How are you and Mellie doing?"

"Everyone's fine, thanks for asking. "

"Sorry I ordered a drink before you got here." Pete said sipping from his glass of bourbon. A waitress came over to their table and Fitz ordered a scotch. "It's been an interesting day, although probably nothing compared to yours."

"Tell me about it. I see you've started construction on your condo development."

"Yes, thanks to the lovely Olivia Pope. She is nothing short of brilliant." He remarked with a crooked smile and a shake of his head. "What was it like working with her at the White House? Why would she leave a job at the West Wing? A mystery really. But in addition to being brilliant, she is also something of an enigma, I tell you."

"Why do you say that?" the waitress came back with Fitz's scotch. He said thank you and took a sip. "This is good." He said.

"Just wondering why a woman so intelligent, so attractive, so …..so beautiful would still be unattached."

Fitz couldn't help but smile. It was amazingly unbelievable that Liv had the same exact effect on Pete that she'd first had on him. There was just something about her.

The waitress came back a few minutes later and they ordered.

"So my friend, you wanted to meet and you said it was pretty urgent. What's on your mind?" asked Pete, his voice low.

"Well I have a problem… that I need dealt with. But it requires the highest discretion. I need you to play this one close to the vest. "

"Of course Fitz. You know you can trust me. But something that requires discretion and I guess secrecy, wouldn't your chief of staff normally handle that?"

"Yes, you're right. But this is something that I don't want to involve him in. I need you to look into something for me old friend."

0o0o0o0

While Fitz was having dinner in Chicago, Olivia was working late in D.C. Everyone else had left for the day and she was reclining on the couch in her office. She hadn't seen or heard from Huck since leaving the office yesterday evening. He hadn't called or picked up his cell phone when she'd tried to reach him earlier. It wasn't like him to not show up for work and not call. She was a little worried and decided to try him again. This time he did answer.

"Huck. Where are you?"

"I got a lead Olivia." He said but his voice was low as if he didn't want to be heard. Her heart leapt a little, but she was still concerned.

"Where are you, Huck?" she asked

"New Mexico. I can't talk right now, I'm working on something. But I should be done here in a few hours. I'll call you when I can."

_New Mexico?_ She thought, but he hung up before Olivia could say anything else. She was relieved though that he was alright. She closed her eyes, half glad he was onto something, but also half afraid he would do something they might both regret later.

0o0o0o0

Saturday evening around 5pm, Marine 1 landed and Fitz was finally back in D.C. All he could think about was Liv. It had literally been almost a month since he'd had a chance to see her. His heart and his body longed to be with her. To say he was exhausted was an understatement, he'd been incredibly busy for the last few weeks, but he wanted to see her tonight.

He made his way up to the residence and it was quiet. He took his luggage into the master suite and set them down.

"Karen? Gerry?" he called out but got no answer.

"They're out. Both at sleepovers tonight." Mellie said coming into the room from the den.

"Oh. No wonder the house is so quiet. How are you?" he asked and started taking off his tie and jacket.

"I'm fine. How was Detroit?"

"Pain in the ass. I'm exhausted, going to take a shower." He said and went into the bathroom. After standing under the hot stream of water, his muscles started to relax and he could feel the tension leaving his body.

He stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later with a towel around his waist and went to get some clothes out of the drawer. Mellie stood by one of the bedroom windows looking at him, her eyes watching every move he made. Fitz noticed her study of him and turned to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

She said nothing and simply walked towards him until she stood before him less than an inch away.

Mel put her arms around his waist and tilted her head up to look into his eyes. She kissed him, softly at first then put one of her hands around his neck pulling him closer. She continued the kiss trying to elicit a response from him. She rubbed her hands over his chest then began to thread her fingers slowly through his hair. Fitz wondered at her motives behind this, but while he didn't fight her off, he didn't return her ardor.

Her hands moved to remove his towel. It was then that he broke the kiss and stepped back. He looked at her, surprised to see there was budding desire in her eyes.

"Mel stop it. What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Trying to make love to my husband." She said reaching for the towel again.

"Mel we haven't _made love_ in years. We've had sex, but…there hasn't' been any love in it for a while."

She was stung for a while, but it was short-lived.

"I forgot. You only make love to Olivia." Her words sounded almost strangled.

"You leave Olivia out of this." Fitz replied, a warning in his voice.

"_**How**_? Are we going to pretend she's _not_ in this? She's the third person in our marriage Fitz. She's the reason you want a divorce, the reason you want to resign from being President. She's_ always_ here, whether you want to admit it or not."

"No. No you are not going to blame her for destroying something that was dead years before I even met her."

The silence that followed was deafening. Mellie hated to admit that he was right. Though she knew that she and Fitz were never head over heels for each other, she refused to admit he was right.

"Why can't you wait? Why can't we finish what we started? We worked so hard to get here, sacrificed so much. Four more years, Fitz! Is that too much time to just wait?"

"You don't understand Mellie." Fitz said calmly. "It's not only about Liv. It's about you and me and us finally being honest with each other. I can't do this anymore. I can't live this lie anymore. I won't. "

"And what about your precious Olivia? Are you aware that she's involved with someone else?"

"What are you talking about?"

She handed him the photos that she'd previously shown to Liv. He sat down on the bed and looked over them.

"You had someone follow her? While we were grieving for our son, you had someone following her? What is the matter with you? This is exactly what I want to get away from. You and I, we are two polar opposites. I admit I'm not totally blameless in what's happened to our marriage. But if we continue to hurt each other like this over and over, eventually I won't even respect you and love you as the mother of my children; I'll just hate and resent you. I'm sorry Mel, but really….it's over. And there's nothing you can do to change my mind."

Fitz got dressed and went to sit in the living room. He heard the bedroom door slam shut behind him. He knew Mel was furious and so was he. He couldn't believe she had someone following Olivia.

He thought about the pictures. What a cozy scene it seemed. He recalled Liv's face looking up at Pete smiling; her head leaned in close to his. Pete kissing her goodnight. That very night he had gone to her hotel room and they had made love. He wouldn't allow himself to believe that there was anything else between them than business. He had told Liv that he would trust her and he did. Besides, from his conversation with Pete over dinner the previous night, he sensed that Liv had most likely told him she wasn't interested. He was sure that Liv's heart still belonged to him. Mellie was grasping at straws.

0o0o0o0

It was shortly after midnight when he was able to make it to Liv's place. He knocked on the door and anxiously waited for her to answer.

Inside Liv stirred from her resting place on the couch. Another sleepless night watching TV. She got up to answer the door and saw Fitz on the other side.

"Fitz!" she said. Her happiness at seeing him was on her face. She pulled him inside and threw herself into his arms. They stood there at the door as she held onto him for dear life. She took in his warmth, his smell and listened to the beat of his heart. She was so happy to be in his arms again.

"Livi" he said, bending down to crush his lips onto hers. He cupped her face in his hands both of them reveling in the taste and feel of each other.

Liv took his hand and led him over to the couch. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"Let me look at you." he said smiling. He trailed his fingers across her cheek, across her lips then pulled her close so he could just hold her. "I missed you so much."

Liv put her arms around him and placed her head in the hollow of his neck. She felt like it had been an eternity since she'd seen him last. They stay there just holding each other not aware of the passing of time. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was here and they were together again.

Liv lifted her head up and kissed him softly on his ear. She let her lips linger there for a minute then slowly slipped out her tongue. She kissed him on his ear again, then his cheek until she found his lips and pressed hers against his. His heartbeat quickened as Liv started running her fingers through his hair.

She turned on his lap and moved her legs till she was straddling him. His hands found themselves under her robe, then under her negligee and onto her breasts where he began to fondle them until her nipples hardened under his touch. Liv moaned and threw her head back. He lowered his, and he moved the straps of her nightgown out of his way. He licked one breast, then played with the other. She was writhing in his arms now and bucking against him. He ran his tongue across the nape of her neck causing her to moan as she continued grinding against him.

Liv unbuttoned, then took off his shirt. She ran her hands up and down his chest, then positioned herself so she could administer some sweet torture of her own. She licked away at his chest, taking his nipples into her mouth, flicking at them, then she trailed her tongue all the way down his stomach. Fitz inhaled sharply, his stomach muscles tensing and quivering at her sweet touch. Oh how he had missed her.

Liv loosed his belt buckle and undid his zipper; her hands pulled his pants and underwear down till he was totally naked before her. she got up and slipped out of her nightgown and stood before him, naked and vulnerable while he drank in the sight of her. Her hair was loose, to him she looked like an angel and she smiled at him.

He started to get up but she gently pushed him back onto the couch. She knelt before him taking his manhood in her hand, then slowly into her wet mouth. Fitz let out a deep moan. Her mouth was warm on him, so sweet and so smooth. He caressed her back, clawing at her almost as her head bobbed up and down. Her tongue flicked at him, creating exquisite patterns of pleasure, and when he could take it no more she took him into her mouth once again sucking on him over and over.

Fitz grabbed Liv by the arm pulling her up and mashing his mouth onto hers. He set her on the couch and knelt between her legs. He was ready. He entered her swiftly and she gasped. She grabbed at his waist wanting to pull him closer, but he pulled out.

"Fitz." She moaned, almost begging.

Swiftly he entered again and plunged into her twice before he pulled out once more. Olivia was trembling and Fitz's breathing was ragged. He looked at her, drunk with wanting and desire. She grabbed at him again.

"My sweet….baby." he moaned and entered her again. His stroking was deep, powerful and he moved his hand under her butt to meet each one. Olivia whispered his name over and over again. Her legs were wrapped around his back allowing him to move deeper and deeper inside her. Liv touched his chest, his face, then she put her fingers into his mouth and he sucked on them.

She was lost in him and he was lost in her. He quickened his pace. The both of them were close to release now. Liv thrashed her head from side to side, she could barely breathe.

"Fitz…." She moaned and he collapsed on top of her, both of them climaxing together.

Their breathing was quick, both of them spent and exhausted. He stayed inside her, not wanting to move. He leaned over her, kissing her face, smoothing out her hair, kissing her lips. She put her arms around his neck loving the feel of him on top of her, kissing her.

"Liv." He said and kissed her sweetly. "Liv."

"Hmm…yes, Fitz."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Fitz."

_**Another A/N so what did you guys**_ _**think of Mellie and Fitz? Or did you just prefer Liv and Fitz? Need I even ask? And i decided to officially change my fic rating to M. By now you know why. :-)**_


	17. CTG Part 16 Walking After You

_**Hey guys, thanks for the new reviews once again. Well this is the latest one and i kinda like it cause we have some playful banter between Liv and Fitz. I hope we get a flashback in season 2 with them being playful. I'd love to see that side of their relationship. Well anyways, enjoy. As always don't forget to let me know what you think.**_

Liv sat before her piano shaking her head but smiling at the same time. She leafed through her sheet music till she found Pachelbel's Canon in D, then set it before her.

"Fitz this is crazy. its 2'oclock in the morning, I'm going to wake the neighbours if I play this."

"Just relax. Don't worry about it. The piece is not that long. And I haven't heard you play in ages. Come on Liv." He replied smiling.

She sighed in mock frustration, but in truth she was glad to play for him She hadn't touched her piano in a while, she wondered if she'd still be any good.

"Ok." She said and began to play the song. The notes were bittersweet. A mixture of sadness and happiness both at the same time. Admittedly it reminded her of their relationship. It was for the most part, a doomed love, but they managed from time to time to steal moments of happiness.

Fitz's eyes were riveted on her. He enjoyed just being here with her, where nothing else in the world mattered but the two of them.

He smiled when she was done playing the last note. "Come here." He said.

She walked over to him and came to lie beside him. They were still in the living room, but Liv had gotten a few blankets and they'd made themselves a nice cozy bed on the floor. Fitz wrapped her up in the blanket beside him and pulled her close.

"Thank you for that." He said. "You know you should get out of the fixing business and become a concert pianist."

"Really now?" she said looking up at him with a smile on her face.

"Oh yeah. You've missed your true calling, Ms. Pope. Can't you see yourself on stage playing masterfully on the piano then being surrounded by thunderous applause?"

"If I had pursued music I never would've met you during the campaign."

"You know you're right. And that…" he said pausing to kiss her. "…would have been a travesty."

Liv reached over to the bowl of almonds she had and popped two into her mouth. Fitz moved a tendril of hair from her face looking pensive.

"I told Mel that I want a divorce. I told her I'm going to resign after this term."

"I know."

"What do you mean '_you know'_? How do you know?"

Olivia sat up and so did he, anxious to hear her answer.

"I've been to see Mellie. She wanted to meet with me. I saw her a few days ago. She wanted me to convince you to change your mind."

While he was furious at Mellie for doing that, Fitz was suddenly nervous. The last time he and Liv had decided to be together, she'd gone to see Mel and they hadn't seen each other in almost a year. He didn't want history repeating itself.

"And? What did you say?" He was literally holding his breath.

"I told her that it was your decision to make and I couldn't stop you."

She looked up at him and he touched her face.

"There are some photos of me….with Pete, that she has, and…"

"I've seen them. She showed them to me. Tonight. "

"Oh….."

"I trust you Liv. Although I can't say that I was happy to see you with him, with him touching your or kissing you…."

"Fitz it looks worse, much worse than it really is, trust me."

"I do. I trust you Liv."

"This situation has become complicated Fitz. This isn't easy."

"We knew it wouldn't be easy, but we said we'd do this together."

"It's impossible Fitz."

"Do you really still have doubts? About us? After everything we've said. I'm willing to give up everything for you, Liv."

"Fitz when you're here with me, when we're together it's like we're in our own little bubble where nothing else exists, but there are going to be a lot of casualties with what we have. The last couple of weeks…" She didn't know if she wanted to tell him about Cyrus and all he'd done. She wanted to handle it on her own.

"Tell me Liv."

She looked at him shaking her head. He would never grasp the lengths Cyrus would go for him.

"Tell me."

Cyrus has been going after my team. To get to me. He sees me as a threat to your presidency and he wants to send a message to me that he'll protect you at all costs."

"What has he done? Tell me Liv."

"No. This is why I didn't want to tell you. I'm handling it on my own."

"Liv, we do this _**togethe**_**r**. Remember? How am I supposed to feel knowing you're being attacked by Cyrus _and_ Mellie? You want me to sit back and do nothing? "

"I want you to trust me. If you go after Cyrus it's going to look like the quarterback in high school trying to beat up the guy who's harassing his girl friend. I don't want you to get your hands dirty. Let me handle this my way Fitz. I'm close to a solution, I promise you."

"So am I."

"What do you mean? I don't want you to do anything foolish. Just because you're going to resign, doesn't mean you need to leave office in the midst of controversy. Let me deal with it."

"I'm not letting you do this alone Olivia. And I'm not going to allow Cyrus or Mellie to change your mind this time. If you leave again, I'm coming after you."

She glared at him, but he ignored it.

"Now give me some of those almonds." He said pointing to the bowl. "Go on."

"So bossy tonight. First the piano now the almonds. You're crazy you know that?" she said passing him the bowl.

"Yes I _am_ crazy. Crazy for you."

0o0o0o

Huck stood in a corner by the window in a seedy motel in New Mexico. He was in room 258 where Charlie had been staying for the past three months. The room was dark except for a tiny sliver of light coming in through the window. It was almost 10pm. It had taken him all of two days to catch up with Charlie. He couldn't fathom the idea that his former mentor had gotten so sloppy after all these years. It worked out to Huck's advantage though. Part of him hoped tonight wouldn't take long, though deep down inside, in the darkest part of his soul, he wouldn't mind if he had to linger here for a while.

There was the sound of a car pulling up in front of the door. He waited patiently for Charlie to get out. He dropped his keys after he got out the car and it seemed to take a while for him to get them off the ground. He stumbled a little coming towards the door and Huck guessed from his movements that he was more than a little drunk.

The room door finally opened and Huck quickly turned on the flash light in his hand and pointed it directly into Charlie's eyes, blinding him so he was unable to see.

"Don't turn the lights on." He instructed him.

"Close the door." Charlie did as he was told.  
"Who is it?" he asked, his speech more than a little slurred.

"You don't recognize your old friend's voice, Charlie?"

"What do you want Huck?" He asked with great apprehension in his voice.

"Just some information. We can do this the easy way. Or we can do it the hard way. Your choice. For your sake, you should pick the easy way, but I'm hoping you pick the hard way, Charlie."

0o0o0o0

"Mr. President, I have a Peter Carmichael on the line for you."

Fitz looked up at Mrs. Hanley as she opened the door to the Oval Office. This was the call he'd been waiting for for days. Hopefully Pete had some good news for him.

"Great, transfer it to the secure line in my private office, Mrs. Hanley. Thank you."

He got up and went through to his office that was directly next door and sat down. He picked up the call as soon as it was transferred.

"Pete. Good to hear from you. Please tell me what I want to hear."

"Is this a secure line?" Pete asked and Fitz assured him it was.

"Well, Fitz I have the information you wanted. And I have to say this wasn't easy to come by. I had to grease more than a few palms to get this for you."

"I will gladly pay you back Pete."

"The money's no problem, Fitz you know that. The nature of this information though is such I don't want to discuss it over the phone. Secure line or not. I'll be back in D.C. by Sunday evening. How bout we meet Monday morning?"

"Morning isn't good I have meeting until noon. How about lunch at 1'oclock. The Grille downtown, you always liked that place. My treat."

"Damn right it's your treat. I'll see you then."

"Ok."

Fitz smiled after hanging up. Everything was coming together and falling into place. Soon the way would be clear and he and Liv could be together without any obstacles. This was the happiest he'd been in years.


	18. CTG 17 Sticks and Stones

_**K Guys. This is the latest installment. To me this chapter feels a bit weak. I've tweaked it a bit and this is the finished product. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.**_

After being sequestered in his office for about two days and being more than a little withdrawn Huck walked into Olivia's office with a file in his hand. He'd come back from Mexico the day after Fitz had been to see her with a different look in his eye. Olivia was very worried about him, but he assured her that he was fine.

He sat in front of her desk and slid the file slowly towards her. She took it but didn't open it. She just looked into his eyes, searching for…..something.

"Huck..."

"It's all there Liv. About Harrison and the money. It's all there. "

She slowly opened the file, scanning the papers quickly. From what she could see Huck had traced the origins of the account specifically to who opened them and when. He also tracked where the money came from. This would take care of Harrison's problem but there was still the issue of Abby. She needed something else that would make Cyrus back off completely. Liv had a feeling this wasn't all Huck had found. She was sure he didn't go to New Mexico for a vacation. He said he had a lead and it had to be big.

"Huck…its bad isn't it?"

"I found out who was behind Amanda Tanner's murder."

0o0o0o0

Olivia was sick to her stomach. It had been Cyrus all along. Everyone assumed after Billy killed Gideon that he'd also had Amanda killed, but it had been Cyrus as she initially thought. She was on her way to the White House to see him and was more than a little upset. She was both anxious and furious after Huck had given her the news. She could tell the information hadn't been easy to come by. Now was not the right time, but she knew in the very near future, she and Huck would have to have a talk about him breaking his _'sobriety'_.

Abby caught up with Liv as she was headed to the elevator.

"Abby I have to step out right now. Can we talk once I get back?"

"It's about Charles."  
"What about him?"

"He has my new number and last night I found this under my door when I got home." She held up a postcard from Cape Cod where they spent their honeymoon.

Liv flipped the card over. There was a note on the back that said _'see you soon'_.

"Abby I am going to take care of this. Trust me. I'll be back soon."

The elevator opened then and she stepped in.

"Liv!"

"I'll be back soon!"

0o0o0o0

Liv walked into Cyrus' office 45 minutes later. He stood up to greet her and invited her to sit.

"Cyrus." She said.

"I hear things over at Pope & Associates haven't been going well lately Liv. How's Abby Whelan? Has her husband found her yet?

He sat back in his chair, looking so smug. The bastard was smiling.

"I also heard that Harrison Wright is having a little legal trouble of his own. "

"You're enjoying this little game of yours aren't you?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm just getting started."

"I'm here to tell you that your game is over. This is where it all ends. It's done."

"You don't have a leg to stand on Liv, there's nothing you can do to stop the next round that's coming. You thought..."

"I know you killed Amanda Tanner. " She interrupted. "You hired someone to kill her and make it look like a suicide."

"I had absolutely nothing to do with that." He denied. "You're fishing in shallow water." He said waving his hand in the air at her.

"I have copies of two wire transfers to an account. Your payment for the contract. A tape of Amanda being carried out of my apartment by your guy and a confession."

"You're bluffing."

"I assure you I'm not. But go ahead and test my theory, be my guest." She got up from her chair and stood in front of his desk looking down at him.

"Let me tell you what you're going to do, Cyrus. You are going to tell Charles Putney to stay the hell away from Abby. I don't care how you do it but you better make sure she never hears from or sees him again. Next you're going to make sure that the account under Harrison's name gets dissolved without a trace do you hear me? Get rid of the account and the money. I want them gone. And whatever attack you have planned next you cancel it, shut it down or the file I have on you will anonymously find its way to the US Attorney's Office. "

Cyrus was furious. She watched him, rage evident on his face and in his whole demeanor. For once, Liv noticed, he was speechless. She realized she had the advantage now.

"What the hell happened to you Cyrus? I always knew you could be ruthless, a mercenary when necessary, but how could you do this? You think this is what the President would have wanted?" She shook her head and turned to leave.

"What the hell happened to_** you **_Liv?" He said and she turned to face him.

"Whatever happened to integrity? Class? Professionalism? You used to live by that code. You forgot all about them. For what? Some cheap affair with a married man. So he'll leave office, divorce his wife. Leave a marriage of 20 years and two young children behind. All because you were so selfish."

She opened her mouth to respond but he went on.

"What does that make you? Will you be comfortable knowing that he gave up his career as the most powerful man in the world? Knowing that he left his marriage when you can convince him stay and make it work? Knowing that two children will be without their father and he gets to shack up with a woman they trusted as a family friend? He and Mellie just suffered the greatest tragedy a couple could go through; losing a child. What does that make you in the end Olivia? Certainly not the woman of **class** that I brought on to the Grant Presidential campaign. It seems she's long gone. I don't even know you anymore." He shook his head looking at her ruefully.

"I'm the same person I've always been Cyrus. If you don't see those three things in me that you say I lack, I think it's because you don't really know the meaning of those words."

Liv forced the words out and left his office quickly. It was never easy going against her mentor. Though he'd taught her every tactic and trick to employ when going after an enemy, it always unnerved her somehow when she had to go against him. His words still stood out in her mind as she stood outside his office. She wouldn't kid herself into thinking that she was a home wrecker. Fitz's marriage was in trouble long before she joined his campaign. But whether or not it was a marriage in name only he was, in fact _**still**_ married. She had always felt guilty about that. She started on her way out and came face to face with Fitz. He was heading to Cyrus' office with Peter Carmichael in tow.

"Livi." He said. He caught the momentary look of hurt on her face before she quickly composed herself.

"Mr. President." She said formally, then said hello to Pete.

"I'm glad I ran into you. May I have few words with you before you leave?" Fitz asked her.

"I apologize sir, but no. I have a meeting I'm incredibly late for. Please excuse me. Good to see you, Pete." She said and hurried off quickly.

"What was that all about?" Asked Pete watching her walk off.

Fitz noticed she had just come out of Cyrus' office. He concluded they'd had a confrontation that didn't go well. He stopped in to tell Cy that he was heading to lunch with Pete. Later on he planned to talk to Liv to find out what the hell had happened.


	19. CTG Part 18 Tough Choices

It had been two weeks since Liv had been to see Cyrus. Things seemed to be getting back to normal. The charges against Harrison were dropped. It seemed the mysterious bank account in his name vanished into thin air much like it first appeared, leaving the State Attorney's office with no evidence to put Harrison back in jail. Charles hadn't contacted Abby anymore, seems his trail had gone cold. And thankfully no one had come looking for Quinn. At least not yet. Olivia felt confident for the most part that the storm was over. She had accomplished what she set out to do; protect her team, her family. She had won the battle but, she felt like she had lost the war.

_**What the hell happened to you, Olivia?**_

Cyrus' words still echoed in her mind. And try as she might she couldn't shake them. Was it really selfish of her to want to be happy? Was it really truly possible for her and Fitz to _be_ happy together?

She knew it was all just Cyrus' last attempt to get at her. There was no dirt to be found on her which was why he'd gone after Abby and Harrison. When all else failed, he struck her where he knew it would hurt most.

Maybe she was being selfish. Fitz had worked hard to get where he was. He paid his dues, went to the right school, a military background, married the right woman, and he fought to become president. Maybe that was more important than love. More important than the two of them being together.

Still. She didn't know if she could let himgo. Not again. She'd done it twice before and though she hid it well, she was torn up inside without him. Fitz would never forgive her for breaking his heart again. She was sure he would end up hating her this time.

He had been trying to contact her for the past two weeks, but she'd been steadily ignoring all his calls. Thankfully he hadn't tried to see her, but knowing Fitz, that wouldn't last long. She had to avoid that happening. As much as she wanted to, as much as she needed to, she couldn't see him right now. She needed time to think.

She went into the kitchen wanting to put some water on to make some tea and realized how late it was. She took a mug off the shelf and realized Huck was still there. She walked into his office and sat down beside him.

"Why are you still here Huck? It's late."

"Sometimes I prefer it here, than at home. Here I have something to keep me occupied, at home there's too much time on my hands."

Liv stared at him for a bit and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Huck…you know if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you. I know that I've asked a lot of you in the last couple of months. And I know recently...with the information on Cyrus. ….I know that couldn't have been easy to come by."

Huck bent his head and stared at his hand in his lap. His shoulders slumped a bit as if he was carrying a heavy burden on them. He was silent for a while debating whether or not to share with Liv what had been going through his mind. He knew if he did tell her how he was feeling, she'd feel guilty about it and he didn't want that. He was grateful to her. She saved him. She saved him from wasting away on the streets. He felt he owed her his life and whatever she asked of him.

"It's almost like being split in two, Liv….you almost become a whole different person. And this other person who…. you had… locked up for so long is suddenly free with no boundaries, no limitations. No concept of the law, what's right and what's wrong. It's like a drunk who's been sober for years and then gets a taste, just a taste after….and he doesn't know when to stop. It's like….he can't stop, and he doesn't want to. He just has to drink more and more and more until he's just…who he used to be. And he thinks to himself 'why did I ever stop drinking?' And he thinks he can handle it but he can't. Because the more he drinks, the more he wants."

Liv watched him as he spoke. She could see the struggle inside him. The brokenness that he still felt. She felt awful because she was a part of that. She helped get him off the street, helped get him clean, but she was the one who asked him to go back to his old life, to break his sobriety. He did it out of obligation to her.

She nodded her head. "I understand Huck. I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't feel guilty Olivia. I never want to be that person again. I never want to have that type of blood lust again. It's a life I swore I would never go back to…..."

"I know….."

"…but you're the only person I'd do it for."

"Huck.."

"I know why you needed it. Do _not_ feel guilty. It'll take a while, but I'll be fine."

0o0o0o0

It was 7:30am when Liv got back to the office the next day. On her way to her office she saw that Huck was still there from the night before.

"Huck ….please… go home and get some sleep."

He smiled at her and nodded.

"Thank you."

A half hour later Stephen arrived. He walked into her office and handed her a cup of tea.

"The merger seems to be going well." He said.

"Yes we are done. Finished the last set of paperwork yesterday evening. This was easier than expected. But there's nothing wrong with easy." She said sipping her tea.

"Hmm…..if only life could be as easy as this merger was." Stephen said taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Tell me about it." She said and thought of Fitz once again.

"Liv you know what I find amazing about you as a person?"

"Oh do tell."

"You treat us all like we're your family, you take care of us, you….you save us, from ourselves, from anyone who tries to hurt us. It's why we'd do anything for you no questions asked."

"And I appreciate that Stephen."

"But you won't let us take care of you."

"Stephen.."

"Liv it's ok to admit that you need help. You don't have to do this on your own. Let me help you. Talk to me. You're not alone."

"Stephen, I can't. I can't just lose it. I can't just fold up. I can't be vulnerable. I don't have that luxury. There are too many people counting on me to keep it together. And there are even more people hoping and praying that I fail."

"I see you Liv. I see you falling down while you're pushing all of us up."

What she loved most about Stephen is what she sometimes hated most about him. He could see straight through her.

"Its hard to love someone you're not supposed to love. It's an impossible situation when loving someone means life for the people you hold dear can be jeopardized and threatened. I would never forgive myself if something happened to any one of you because of me and my personal choices. So I have to choose once again. I have to figure out what the best thing is for everyone."

Tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Stephen was about to answer her when her cell phone rang. Looking at the number she recognized it was Fitz. Two weeks, she knew she couldn't ignore him anymore.

"I'm sorry Stephen I have to take this."

She waited till he left and closed the door behind him. She contemplated not even answering. But Fitz didn't deserve that. She cleared her throat and said hello.

"Liv are you ok?" His voice was heavy with concern and worry.

"I'm fine, Fitz." She lied.

"Liv what the hell is going on? Why aren't you answering my calls? It's been two weeks and you're deliberately ignoring me. What is going on?" he demanded.

Olivia didn't want to lie, but she wasn't ready to tell him the truth. She didn't want to tell him she was having doubts yet again. She didn't want to tell him that she was thinking he shouldn't resign. She didn't want to break his heart again.

"It's been a little crazy around the office that's all. I haven't had time to talk."

"Liv…I know it has nothing to do with your work, tell me the truth. Does it have anything to do with your meeting with Cyrus?"

"Fitz…"

"Liv….whatever he's told you, please. Together, Liv. We promised to do this together."

Why was it that just talking to him made her think that it would be alright? He made it sound so damn easy and it wasn't.

"I just need a little time right now Fitz. I have to think about a few things and…"

Fitz was in a panic. He could sense, he could feel that he was losing her and he couldn't let that happen.

"Livi please. Please. I love you. And I can't….I can't lose you again. I can't. Please."

Liv opened her mouth, but no words would come out.

"Livi…"

"I'm sorry, Fitz. I have to go."


	20. Closing the Gap Part 19 Checkmate

_I can't lose her again. I can't lose her again. I can't lose her again._

Fitz cradled the phone in his hand long after Liv had hung up on him. He was in his private office seated behind his desk. A sense of pending doom came over him and he bowed his head in his hands. His eyes were closed almost as if he were praying.

_I won't lose her again._

It had taken months, a baby, a funeral and a lot of hurt for them to find each other again. He wouldn't allow her to walk away this time. Not when he knew she loved and wanted him just as much as he did her. He had to see her. He had to find out what was wrong and they would work it out together. He got up to get his coat when Cyrus walked into his office.

Mr. President I have some documents that need your signature. He paused in front of Fitz's desk and handed him a folder. Fitz took it without opening it and put them on the desk before him.

"Mellie and the kids are heading to Martha's vineyard this evening. You're still scheduled to join them in two days.

"Cyrus sit down."

"Mr. President?"

"Please have a seat. There's something I need to talk to you about."

Cyrus sat back into a leather arm chair while Fitz was perched atop his desk.

"I was wondering about the right time to tell you this but I guess now is as good a time as any. "

"Tell me what?"

"I'm going to resign after this term is done. I'm not going to seek re-election. I'm done. Whatever recommendations you need from me, you have it. You don't have to worry about that."

Fitz stared at his chief of staff waiting for a reaction from him.

"You want to throw it all away. What Sally Langston and Billy Chambers, what they tried to take from you, what you fought for, what we all fought for, you want to just throw it all away?"

"I have thought about it long and hard. It's not what I want anymore."

"And what do you want? Don't give me the corny unrealistic fairytale about living a normal life and being a normal person. That's not who you are. You were born to do this. It's what you've worked for your _entire_ life. Every step you've taken has led you here. Right where you wanted to be. Right where you should be. Think about it. Do you know how many people depend on you, the lives you can change? The potential of your presidency to make a real difference in this country? This is why I was proud to run your campaign when you asked me. I believed in you. I still do."

"Cyrus…"

"No. You can't. We were meant to make a difference."

"Cyrus, it's over. I'm done. This isn't what I want anymore."

"What about Mellie? I'm sure she's not happy with this."

"No she's not. But it's not her decision to make. I've asked her for a divorce."

"So that you can be with Olivia." Cyrus accused. "That's what this is really about. You want to throw it all away because of her, so that you can…."

"Cyrus be careful. Be careful what you say about her."

"Olivia is the real problem. Like you said before with the Amanda issue. Our real problem is Olivia Pope. With her out of the equation you'd never think of resigning."

Fitz got up from the edge of his desk and stood in front of Cyrus.

"Are you threatening Liv? I hope not. Because, you don't want to do that, Cyrus."

"I'm simply saying….look when she left after the 20/20 interview, things got back on track, and your approval ratings went back up. You seemed happy. Mellie was happy. Everything was going fine. The minute she showed back up…"

"I'm well aware of what you've been doing behind my back. You went to war with Liv without my knowledge. I know she was here to see you this week for what appeared to be an intense meeting."

Cyrus blanched. Did Fitz know about Amanda Tanner? Did Liv tell him he was the one behind her death?

"She won't tell me what transpired between you two. Even when you do your worst she still won't completely throw you to the dogs. That's a quality in her you should admire Cy."

"You're going to let this woman bring down your administration."

"She's not just some woman, Cy. She's the woman I love. And she's _enough_. She's enough for me. When I'm with her I don't need the cameras, the speeches, the Secret Service. I don't give a damn about approval ratings or legislature. None of it matters to me if I don't have Liv. I can do all of that, yes. I can be the leader you want me to be, who Mellie expects me to be, but something will always be missing. And that something is her. "

"Mr. President…."

"And I will protect her no matter what. From anyone who tries to hurt her, professionally, or otherwise. No matter what and especially from you."

"From me?"

"Whenever you feel you can't manipulate me, you try to manipulate Liv into staying away from me. I warned you last month but obviously you didn't take me seriously. So I had to take a page out of Liv's book and took matters into my own hands."

"What are you talking about?"

"George Washington University, your second year teaching there you had an affair with a student Charles Davidson that ended quite badly. So badly that he tried to kill himself. He was just a freshman and his parents threatened legal action, but they quietly allowed you to leave at the end of the semester instead and gave the family a small settlement. "

Cyrus face sank and he got up from his chair.

"Mr. President…."

"Do you think James would be happy to find out that you still secretly see Charles from time to time? I have some photos that I'm sure you wouldn't want him to see. You said he wanted to adopt a baby didn't you?"

Cyrus inhaled sharply. "Mr. President…"

"No one has to find out about this Cy. All I ask is that you back the hell off of Olivia. Don't contact her unless I ask you to. Don't threaten her or try to undermine her in any way. Be my loyal chief of staff till the end of this term. Whatever recommendations you need after that time, you have them. Is that understood?"

"Whatever I did….whatever I've ever done was done to protect you. To protect your presidency. It was always out of loyalty."

"Is that understood?"

Cyrus nodded curtly.

"Good." He went behind his desk and signed the forms Cyrus had brought in. He handed the folder back to him.

"Thank you, Cy."

Cyrus paused in front of Fitz's desk, then he wordlessly walked out, closing the door behind him.

Fitz let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair.

"Thanks a lot, Pete. I owe you one."

0o0o0o0

Liv had felt nauseous the whole day and more than a little dizzy. She tried to eat something but ended up throwing up. She sat in her office drinking some water and slowly realized that she was late. She looked at the calendar on her desk and realized that yes, her period was late.

She sat up straight in her chair and started to panic. Foolishly she and Fitz had never used any protection. Could she be pregnant?


	21. Closing the Gap Part 20 Full Circle

_**It was interesting to read the reviews about the last two chapters. A lot of people were upset at Liv pushing Fitz away right after her meeting with Cyrus. What I've noticed from watching Scandal S1 is that though Liv can get into the trenches with Cy when he's playing hardball, he still has the ability to unnerve her and have her second guess herself so I wanted to show that side of her. Also i wanted to show that though Liv truly loves Fitz she's more than willing to sacrifice her own happiness and desire to be with him if she felt he'd be happier living his life as President. Anyways I enjoyed writing the confrontation between Fitz and Cy, and I hope in S2 we get a scene similar to it. This latest chapter was hard for me to write for some reason, I hope you enjoy. **_

Liv didn't fail to see the irony of the situation she was in right now. Just months ago she'd had Amanda Tanner take a pregnancy test, more than one in fact, when she'd said she was pregnant with the President's baby. And now she was doing the exact same thing. It had been a half hour since Liv had taken three separate pregnancy tests. A full half hour later and she didn't have the guts to look at the results. What if she were really pregnant?

The consequences of her being pregnant right now and the press finding out about it could be catastrophic. Fitz would have to resign amidst scandal and controversy. Her reputation in Washington would be destroyed; she would be branded as a home wrecker, who managed to get knocked up while she was the President's mistress. It had the potential of being one big mess.

If she _was_ pregnant…..she had to figure out what to do. Resigning herself to go and look at the results there was a knock on her front door. Liv glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost midnight. It could only be one person. The one person she wasn't prepared to see right now.

She sighed and opened the front door.

There he was.

She stepped aside to let him in and shut the door behind him. Initially she didn't say anything and neither did he. But he regarded her with a look on his face that let her know that not only was he frustrated, but he was very annoyed with her. She tried to remain calm but her heart was hammering in her chest. What she really wanted was to run into his arms, to hold him and let him hold her, but she wouldn't give in to her desires right now. He took his jacket off and rested it over the back of an armchair and turned towards her.

"Liv, what are you doing?" He asked when he finally spoke.

She didn't answer. Truly she didn't know. One meeting with Cyrus and she felt like the worst person in the world.

"What are you doing, Liv?"

"Fitz, I said I needed time."

"I won't give it to you. If I do you'll only end up thinking of reasons why it's better for me to remain President. You'll only think up reasons why we shouldn't be together like you did before. I'm not doing this anymore Livi. I can't keep riding this merry go round with you. I can't continue to put myself out there only to have you leave again."

"Fitz it's not that simple." She said and turned away from him. Fitz grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him, pulling her against his chest. Liv tried to pull away, but he placed his hand firmly on her waist and she couldn't move.

""It's never been simple, it's never been easy and it never will be. But we promised to do it _together_."

"I….."

"You're not the fixer here, you're not my campaign manager, we're just us."

"In a perfect world yes, but in the real one…."

"Why the hell did you even come to the hospital when Jeffrey was born? What did you want?"

Liv wanted to, but she couldn't look into his eyes. He was right to accuse her. Months of being away from him hadn't made her feelings for him go away. In fact with every passing day she longed more and more to be with him. When news broke about the baby all she thought about was him and she was literally compelled to go to him.

"I wanted to see how you were, I was concerned."

"Don't lie to me. If that's all you wanted you could have asked Cyrus, you could have sent a damn sympathy card. You left me. I was hurt and I was empty but I accepted it and you came back and you begged me to let you in. Do you remember? You told me you loved me and you begged me to let you in. You made me care again Liv. I shut down all my emotions because of you, I wouldn't allow myself to feel anything until you walked back into my life. We said we would figure it out _togethe_r but you're making hasty decisions on your own and you're shutting me out like you always do. "

"There are things that you have to consider, people who depend on me….." She said pulling away from his arms and walking to the other side of the couch. The words she spoke sounded like excuses even to her ears. She felt like she couldn't think straight.

"Livi for God's sake, Cyrus is nowhere in this room, but it's like he's standing right next to you whispering in your ear. Everything coming out of your mouth are his words not yours."

Fitz walked over to her and raised her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"Forget about Cyrus. He won't bother you anymore."

Just what did he mean by that, Liv wondered.

"Forget about Mellie. Our marriage was over long before you came along you know that. Forget about being perfect and in control for the sake of your team. Once you strip that all away, what's left Livi?"

"You and me." She said her eyes filling with tears. Fitz held her face in both hands and touched his forehead to hers.

"Just you and me." He whispered and kissed her cheek then gently rested his lips on her mouth. He pulled her in close totally enveloping her in his embrace. It felt so good to hold her, to smell her, to have her in his arms again.

"I'm not letting you leave this time Liv. You're not walking away. I won't let you do it." She was so still in his arms, so quiet and he knew, just knew that for some reason she was terrified.

"It's just you and me Liv. Just you and me, there's no Cyrus, no Mellie, no one else but you and me." He ran his hands up and down her back trying to comfort her, trying to calm her fears and reservations.

"Look at me." He said. "I love you. Are we in this together?" Fitz's face was so close to hers there was no way she could look away.

"Yes." She whispered as two small tears ran down her cheeks. Fitz brushed them away. "I'm sorry, Fitz. I'm sorry for not trusting you and I'm sorry for…"

"Shhh….." He whispered before kissing her passionately and then nothing else mattered. His kiss was crushing conveying how much he had missed her, how much he had longed for her for weeks, how much he truly loved her. Liv put her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. God she missed him. She felt so stupid right now for listening to Cyrus and for allowing her to doubt that what she and Fitz had wasn't worth fighting for. He pulled her closer along the full length of him and he kissed the hollow of her neck making her weak against him. She moaned, feeling the stir of desire within her and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

She thought about the pregnancy test and broke the kiss.

"Fitz, wait. There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Well, I…" She began but he interrupted her.

"Liv…..is that box what I think it is?" He dropped his hands and picked up one of the pregnancy test boxes that were on the couch. He turned around to stare at her waiting for her to answer.

"That's what I was about to tell you."

"That you're pregnant?"

"Well I'm late…..and I'm never late. I haven't been on the pill since I left the White House and….we never took any precautions when we were together…"

"Are you pregnant Liv?"

"I don't know yet. "

"Well where's the test? Did you take it? What did it say?"

"I was about to go look at the results right before you got here and…"

"….and?"

"…..I was afraid to."

"What? Why?"

"For one you're still President. Two you're married and three…"

"If you blurt out 'Cyrus' so help me Liv…."he warned her. "Come here." He said taking both her hands into his own.

"A baby would really complicate things right now, Fitz. Admit it."

"I do. But can't you picture a beautiful little girl with golden skin, your full lips, and those cheeks!" He smiled his voice little above a whisper now.

"….Your curly brown hair and your beautiful gray blue eyes…." Liv said smiling up at him, touching his face.

"Running around the ranch, through the stables….she'd be the apple of my eye, Liv. I'd be the happiest man on earth. Now let's go look at the results."

They walked into the bathroom together, where the tests lay on the bathroom sink. Fitz stood directly in the back of Liv while she picked up one after the other. After noting the results Liv put them down and turned towards Fitz with a sigh.

"Well Mr. President, it looks like you're going to be a father again."

Fitz scooped her up in his arms with an extremely wide grin on his face. Liv couldn't help but return his smile. He loved her. And she was desperately in love with him. Yes a baby would further complicate things, but it would also be something beautiful that was created from their love. Whatever obstacles lay ahead of them, they would deal with it _together_.

**_A/N: I feel like Closing the Gap is about to come to an end. They've reconciled and Liv is finally going to allow herself some happiness with Fitz. I feel as if we'll probably only see about one more chapter in this story, 'maybe' two. _**


	22. Closing the Gap Part 21 New Beginnings

Liv sat in her doctor's office. The air conditioning was turned on and it was very cold even with her coat on. She crossed her arms in front of her and her eyes settled on a poster on the wall of a young mother cradling a baby. Pretty soon that might be her. The home tests she'd taken had said she was pregnant, but she came to her doctor's office just to be sure. It was a formality really, Liv thought, but a necessary one.

The office door swung open and Dr. Richardson walked in. He was an older man with a kind face and sunny disposition. He had a big smile on his face when he greeted her.

"Olivia! How have you been?"

"I'm good Dr. Richardson."

"Yes you _are_, I can see that, and looking damn good too I might add." He said and winked. "When are you going to give this old man a chance and let me take you out, huh?"

"Oh, if I did that you know your wife would kill me." She said and laughed a little.

"I never knew you were afraid of a little competition. I thought you were fearless."

"I am but you have to know when to pick your battles."

"Right you are about that. Well let me be the first to say 'congratulations' Olivia. You're going to be a mother."

She exhaled sharply. "Thank you." She said and smiled though she felt suddenly terrified. "Do you know by how many weeks?"

"Well from the information you gave me I'd say about five."

Dr. Richardson started talking about due dates and other important information. Five weeks? She thought. That would mean she'd gotten pregnant the night she went to see Fitz after Jeffrey died and they made love in the guest bedroom. That one night was all it took. Humph. She could hardly believe it. Life was about to change drastically.

Now she, the great Olivia Pope would be faced with midnight feedings and diaper changes, maybe a colicky baby and then….teething! She wondered if she was ready. Dr. Richardson referred her to an OB/GYN that he knew well and trusted and he booked an appointment for her right there while she waited. Liv thanked him and left.

She had to call Fitz and tell him.

0o0o0o0o

Fitz was getting a little annoyed and it was beginning to show on his face.

"This is taking longer than expected Cyrus, it's becoming ridiculous. How many more votes do we need?" Actually Fitz was more than a little annoyed. Not just at the tedious process of getting support for his latest bill that he was trying to get passed, but because he had yet to hear from Liv. He knew her doctor's appointment was this morning and he was anxious to hear if her pregnancy was confirmed or not.

"McCluskey is stalling, Mr. President. He's been an 'undecided' for a week now. After him we only need one more but…"

Cyrus was interrupted when the phone rang.

Fitz picked it up. Mrs. Hanley told him that Liv was on the phone. He told her to transfer it to his private office.

"Cy, give me a minute I need to take this call."

Cy nodded and Fitz got up to go to his private office next door.

He picked up the phone eager to hear the news, but just eager to hear her voice.

"Liv."

"Mr. President."

"Don't get all formal on me. I miss you." He hadn't been able to talk to her for the last two days which for him seemed like an eternity. "What did the doctor say?"

"Still hitting on me after all this time. I swear if I hadn't been going to him for years I'd think he was just a dirty old man."

"Well you are sort of irresistible."

"Am I now?"

"Don't pretend you don't know the effect you have on men. Don't forget I wanted you fired after our very first meeting during my campaign."

"Oh I never forget but I love to hear you tell me the story over and over again." She teased.

"So besides trying to get into your pants, what else did the doctor say?"

He congratulated me on my pregnancy."

"He did, did he? I told you three tests couldn't be wrong. And how do you feel about that?"

"Question is how do you feel about it? You just lost a child and I know you're still emotional about all that. What will you tell Gerry and Karen? What will you tell Mellie?"

"I do feel bad about Jeffrey. I regret that he was conceived the way he was, the horrible reasons we decided to have him. And it was heartbreaking that we lost him. But it would make me the happiest man in the world if you had my child Liv. And listen I know the wheels are turning in your head about all the negative possibilities, but I want us to keep it Olivia. It'll be a bit of a challenge, you know before I'm out of office but…."

"No Fitz….I want to keep it too, regardless of the challenges which I'm sure will be plenty."

"You do?"

"Yes. None of the negatives matter. I want this baby. We'll figure it out. Together."

"Together." He said smiling into the phone.

0o0o0o0o

Fitz stood before the full length mirror adjusting his tie. He fondly remembered a day such as this right before he and Mellie were about to be interviewed for a morning talk show when Olivia ordered him to take his 'distracting' tie off. He smiled at that thought. It had been six months since it had been confirmed that she was pregnant. And now he was six months closer to being with her for the rest of his life. A smile briefly passed over his face, one that didn't go unnoticed by Mel.

"What are you so happy about? You're about to make the biggest mistake of your career right now. Smiling is the last thing you should be doing."

Fitz looked at her and instead of being offended at her remark; he realized she had a right to be angry. They both had political aspirations when they were younger, they both wanted to achieve influence and power in some way. And they both had worked hard to get where they were. Now he was making the decision to back out of their agreement.

He put his hand on the side of her face, startling her.

"Thank you, Mel."

She was taken aback at that.

"Thank me for what?"

"For everything. For my children. For standing by me during the Amanda fiasco. For…..everything. I couldn't have gotten here without you. _We_ wouldn't have gotten here without you. So, thank you."

Fitz saw momentary regret in her eyes and for a brief moment she wasn't the political animal she'd turned into over the last few years. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the mouth.

Mellie looked at him finally accepting that it was done. "The kids and I will be downstairs waiting for you." She said and turned to walk out closing the bedroom door behind her.

The entire press corp had gathered at the White House, eagerly anticipating what announcement the President was going to make. A press conference had been called and Cyrus, Mellie, along with Gerry and Karen were standing on the stage waiting for him to arrive. The whole place was abuzz, everyone anxious to hear what he was about to say.

Olivia was at the very back of the room when Fitz entered. Everyone got up as he made his way to the podium and a hush fell over the room. Liv reached down and put her hand on her growing tummy. The baby chose the exact moment Fitz started to speak to offer a swift kick against her abdomen.

"Whoa there. Calm down, honey."

Fitz spoke about his early days as governor, the campaign trail and about becoming President. He spoke about the honour he felt at being elected to the highest office in the country and the faith the American people had put in him.

"…it is with great sadness that I announce that I will not seek re-election for a second term…."

At those words, the hush that had previously fallen over the room turned into a frantic buzz of unending questions which Fitz was forced to answer. It went on for almost 15 minutes, and afterwards Liv retreated slowly to the exit, not before watching Fitz embrace his family warmly, Mellie included. It was something she would've told him to do had she still been one of his advisors.

0o0o0o0

After a short five minute meeting with MSNBC, Mellie sat in her office quietly contemplating the future ahead. The end of Fitz's term was just a few short months away and they would return to Santa Barbara where they'd quietly divorce and part ways. There was still so much left that she wanted to do, increase literacy, and deal with the homeless issue. Now she'd be helpless, not even a governor's wife anymore.

There was a knock on her door then it opened. It was Cyrus.

"Cy."

"Mellie."

"You aren't in here licking your wounds are you?"

She gave him a scathing look. "What do you want, Cyrus?"

"To tell you that all is not lost."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Have you ever thought about running for Senate?"

0o0o0o0

Liv woke out of a deep sleep to let Fitz into her apartment. He apologized for disturbing her sleep, but he had to come see her, check on her and see how she was doing. He'd wanted to talk to her after the press conference but she'd left quickly afterwards. The rest of the day had been filled with interviews and much speculation about why he was choosing to leave office when it was evident he was a shoe in for the next term if he had chosen to stay.

He took off his shirt and pants, slipped out of his shoes and got into bed with her. He loved just being beside her, under the covers holding her close. His hands found her belly and he rubbed it thinking about the baby and what she would look like. The doctor had confirmed they were having a girl.

"Liv?"

"Hmmm?" She responded, still feeling half asleep.

"What'd you think?"

"Of your speech? It was very good. The hugging bit with Mel and the kids was perfect. Although I don't think that was scripted, that was all you."

He smiled. "You know me so well."

"I do."

"You know the moment you started working on my campaign I knew I was in trouble. I knew if you stayed around that I would fall in love with you. I knew that my life would never be the same. "

Liv turned around in his arms and looked at him. She knew something was on his mind. "What is it Fitz?"

"I don't want to just have a life with you. I want to do it right."

"What are you saying?"

"I mean I want you to be my wife. For better or worse. I want us to be together. Will you marry me Liv?"

"Yes." She said nodding her head in the dark. "Yes I will marry you."

For the second time that day the baby kicked her again. "Oh!" Looks like she says yes too." She smiled as he bent his head to kiss her, his hand on her belly once again.


	23. Closing the Gap Part 22 I Take You

_**Hey guys! After much cajoling and pleading by some (lolol) here is the latest and final installment of Closing the Gap. Took me a while to write this one, and I hope its as heartfelt to you as it is to. I love Liv and Fitz and hopefullyhis ending gives them justice. Enjoy!**_

It was 1:00am and Fitz paced back and forth is his office in the private residence. His nerves were getting the better of him. He couldn't stand it for much longer. He knew he shouldn't panic but for some reason he just couldn't help it. It had been over an hour since Liv had gone into labor and headed to the George Washington University Hospital. He was anxious to hear how she was doing.

He ran all kinds of scenarios through his head. Would she be okay? Would the baby be okay? He thought about Jeffrey and how he suffered for those few days. Liv had carried to full term and her pregnancy had been a healthy one but that didn't stop Fitz from offering up silent prayers that this child would be born without any complications.

They had known from the beginning that he wouldn't have been able to be there with Liv during labor. He'd been there for the birth of all three of his children with Mellie. He was horribly disappointed that he wouldn't, couldn't be there for Liv but he didn't want her to be alone. So he'd made the decision to ask Pete to be with Liv at the hospital.

He sat down on the couch crossing his legs and smiled as he remembered how that conversation went. They were having lunch at 'The Grille' in downtown Washington just a few weeks after the press conference announcing his resignation. Pete was interested to know why he was quitting. His long time friend could scarcely believe it was because he simply didn't want the Presidency any more. What was even more stunning to Pete was that he wanted to start a new life with another woman. And that woman was none other than Olivia Pope, the same Olivia Pope; Pete had hopelessly tried to pursue himself.

It took a while for it to register to Pete, but he agreed to be there as Fitz had requested. It had partially eased the burden for Fitz, though liv was somewhat mortified that he had shared their secret. She wasn't entirely sure that Pete could be trusted, but Fitz assured her that he was. And it had felt good to finally be able to talk about her to someone else.

His phone rang interrupting his thoughts and he saw that it was Pete.

"Pete, what's happening?" asked Fitz. His friend could hear the anxiety in his voice.

"It's okay. She's fine, the baby's fine. The delivery's over and they're both doing okay." He smiled into the phone. The whole experience brought back memories of his ex when they'd had their son.

Fitz let out a sigh of relief, and he could hear the baby's cries in the background.

"Thank you, Pete. Thank you so much." Tears stung the back of his eyes. "Where's Livi? Can I talk to her?"

"Sure hold on a minute."

He handed the phone to Olivia.

"Hi."

"You sound tired."

"I'll survive."

"I'm so proud of you baby. I wish I could be there. "

"I wish you could be here too. Pete did a good job, he held my hand, rubbed my back for me. I was happy to have him here."

"He rubbed your back did he? Hope he didn't enjoy that too much."

"Please tell me you're not jealous at a time like this."

"I'm just teasing. I'm glad he was there too."

"Good."

He listened as the baby gave a soft barely audible coo and he smile again imagining what she looked like.

"Fitz she's so beautiful. Pete is doing some video, get on Skype so you can see. Go get your IPad."

"K. Hold on a sec."

Fitz jumped up to look for the device on his desk. He quickly logged on and was blown away at the sight of their daughter. She lay nestled in a blanket in Liv's arms and she was a sight to behold. As he predicted she had his nose, her mom's epic pout and light caramel skin. A patch of straight brown hair peeked out from under her tiny hat.

"Do you want to meet your daddy? Say hi daddy. What do you think of me?"

"Livi, she's beautiful and so big. How much does she weigh?"

"She's 9lb. 7oz.!"

"That's more than Karen or Gerry."

"Yes what was her mother eating while she was pregnant?!" Chimed in Pete and Liv laughed a bit at that. "Do you have a name yet for you r little princess?"

"Mm hmm. She's Thalia Renee Pope." Said Olivia softly and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. It was then that little Thalia opened her eyes. Fitz looked at her in wonder and his heart turned over. It seemed her bluish gray eyes were fixed directly on him.

"I can't wait to see her in person. I can't wait to see you."

A week later he was able to do just that, when he was able to steal away and make it to Liv's apartment shortly after midnight. When he got there Liv was pacing the floor and lightly tapping Thalia's back trying to quiet her down. He lightly embraced them both and kissed Liv soundly.

"I missed you. How are you?"

"A little beat. I gave her something to eat. I'm trying to settle her and get her back to bed."

"Give her to me. You go sit down."

He took off his jacket and gently took her from Liv. Thalia fixed her eyes on him, almost as if she was studying his face. He cradled her head in his hand and held her snugly to his chest while he walked the room with her. Liv watched him with a smile on her face listening to him talk to their daughter.

"Thalia I have to tell you that you are in trouble. You are in trouble because you just stole your daddy's heart." He smiled down at her. "You're going to have to tell your mommy that she's in danger of being replaced because I just found the new love of my life."

He continued to rock her until she finally fell asleep against his chest. He knew he should put her in her crib, but his time there would be so brief he didn't want to put her down. He sat with Liv on the couch and she rested her head on his shoulder while he held Thalia. Liv rested her hand on his arm.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you Liv."

0o0o0o

"This doesn't seem real. This just doesn't seem real to me." Gerry stood still while Karen adjusted his tie and straightened out the lapel of his gray suit.

At 16 years old, he was beginning to grow into his looks. He had his father's height, Mel's dark hair and a presence about him that denoted future greatness. His sister who was two years older nodded her head in agreement but said nothing in response.

"Karen come on. I mean do you believe what's happening? Mom and dad are divorced, he and Olivia had a child together and now they're getting _married_! Married, Karen. "

"Yes it is very unbelievable. But Ger, be honest, besides when we were kids and didn't know any better, did you ever buy that mom and dad were a happily married couple? Did they ever look like they were madly in love with each other? They pretended for the cameras, but I was never fooled. "

"But still…"

"And did you seriously never notice how he practically lit up whenever Liv entered a room?"

Gerry had to admit that Karen was right. When he was younger he himself carried a huge crush on Fitz's young, beautiful and assertive campaign manager. He used to follow her around a lot during his father's bid for President and Liv had happily indulged him. She found it flattering. But there were times when he caught a glimpse of his father looking at Liv in a way that made him wonder if his own father harbored more than professional feelings for her. He knew his parents both considered Olivia to be a friend of the family.

"I wonder if they were seeing each other before mom and dad got divorced…."

"Ger…" she said giving him a look that said that should have been obvious.

"I wonder if mom knew!"

"It doesn't matter."

"I wish she would've come today."

"Why the hell would she want to come here? I wouldn't want to watch my ex husband get married to another woman, whether I was still in love with him or not."

"Do you think she still loves dad?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think she's still angry? About the divorce I mean?"

"I don't even think she was angry so much about the divorce, as she was about leaving the White House and not being the First Lady anymore. I think she was more hurt about that than losing her husband."

"You make mom sound like a monster."

"I'm not. There's a lot that I noticed while we were in Washington. While you were busy trying to impress the girls with your private Secret Service detail I saw what really happened behind closed doors when they weren't pretending for the cameras."

Karen checked out herself in the full length mirror. She was a tall beauty, her long black curly hair fell way past her shoulders and she had smoldering eyes. She was stunning in a short burgundy Marlowe dress and simple drop earrings.

"Mom loves us Gerry. I do not doubt that. But looking back, sometimes I feel she'd prefer being in the spotlight much more than being a stay at home mom. The only thing we can try to do is let them live their lives and be as happy as they can be. And I'm glad dad is happy with Liv. He deserves it. Hopefully mom can meet someone who can do the same for her. "

"I guess." Replied Gerry, shrugging and offering her his arm. "Time to go downstairs."

"You look nice by the way Ger."

"Of course I do, sis." He giggled while she rolled her eyes.

"Wait. I'll meet you downstairs. I wanna go see Liv."

"K."

0o0o0o

"Thalia….please give that back to mommy." Said Liv pleading with her daughter. She was sixteen months now and quite a handful, running around the room with one of Olivia's shoes. She stopped her running briefly to look up at her mother and offer a huge grin showing a lot of gum but eight very impressive teeth. She had the most beautiful smile and could be very persuasive whenever she turned on the charm. From the first night he held her in Liv's apartment, Fitz could never deny her anything. She had him very much wrapped around her finger. He absolutely adored her. Before leaving office he hadn't been able to see her as much as he'd wanted, but he more than made up for it after moving back to Santa Barbara. Liv often came out to the ranch with Thalia in tow where they were inseparable.

Her long brown curls had little bows tied in it and she wore a simple lavender silk dress with a big bow at the back. Liv frowned thinking maybe she had dressed her too soon because she hadn't kept still since she put it on her.

Fitz's youngest sister Sarah was helping her get dressed. She'd gone downstairs to find out Fitz's whereabouts after helping Liv get ready. They'd decided to have the wedding at the ranch. Elaborate tents were set up out back. One for the ceremony and another for the reception dinner afterwards.

She was wearing a strapless white mermaid gown from Vera Wang. Her hair was partially pinned to the side with curls flowing on the other side and down her back and she had a short birdcage veil over her face

Liv was very nervous. She wanted to pinch herself. She couldn't believe it was finally happening.

She was finally able to catch up with Thalia and scooped her up in her arms.

"Gotcha!" She said while Thalia dissolved into giggles. Just then Sarah reentered the room with a smile on her face.

"What is it?"

"Fitz is a nervous wreck. He's pacing the floor." She laughed.

"Well at least I have company. You're not nervous though are you munchkin?" She said playing with Thalia.

"Liv I forbid you to get this fabulous dress wrinkled. Let me take her to Karen. "Just then there was a knock on the door and Karen walked in.

"Oh my goodness Liv, you look amazing. Dad is gonna flip!"

They all laughed.

"Karen I'm really glad you're here. It means so much to me after everything that's happened."

"Liv stop. Seriously I'm just glad that dad is happy for once. "There were tears in her eyes. "I know you make him happy. That's all that matters to me. And you little Tee Tee, are looking pretty spectacular yourself. You want to come hang out with big sis, huh?" She said and Thalia opened her arms to be picked up.

"Give mommy a kiss bye bye." Liv said and touched her lips to Thalia's briefly. Karen took her out of Liv's arms and turned to head out.

"You really do look beautiful Liv."

"Thank you, Karen." Liv said and felt her eyes getting full.

"Don't you dare cry. For one you'll ruin your makeup and two, I'll start crying too." Said Sarah.

There was a knock on the door and Stephen walked in looking quite handsome in a black suit.

"Stephen!"

"You. , Liv. I can't tell you how happy I am for you." He said and hugged her.

"Thank you."

"Are you ready?" he said offering her his arm.

"What do you think, Sarah? Do I look okay?"

"You're more than okay. Here." She picked up the bouquet of three long stemmed calla lilies tied together with a ribbon and handed it to her. "I'll see you downstairs." Then she left.

"I have to admit, I never thought it would happen. You know, back then. I'm sorry for telling you that you couldn't' have him. I never should have said a word."

Liv shook her head. "Don't even apologize. "

They walked out together, down the stairs and out the back door. The air was balmy and there was a cool breeze blowing. They stepped onto the pebble stoned pathway that would lead to the big tent set up for the ceremony. One hundred guests looked in her direction and Liv gripped his arm tighter while Stephen smiled down at her knowing she was a little nervous.

They got to the end of the aisle and paused just a second.

"You ready Liv?" asked Stephen.

Just ahead her eyes locked with Fitz's. The expression on his face when he saw her was enough to make her heart turn over. She could feel her eyes start to well up again, but she willed herself not to cry.

From the moment Liv started walking toward him the world stopped. Fitz didn't see or hear anything or anyone else. She simply took his breath away. She looked so beautiful he thought. He couldn't believe that today she would finally truly become his.

"You are beautiful." He said when she finally stood next to him and he took her hand from Stephen's.

Over twenty years ago he had married a young ambitious woman. Initially she'd held his respect, friendship and genuine affection, but she'd never held his heart. Not the way Liv did. Liv was the total opposite. Where ever she went, she carried his heart with her. And it would stay with her forever.

They shared their first kiss as husband and wife and he pulled Liv into his arms to embrace her.

"I love you, Fitz." Said Olivia and he kissed her again to the music of thunderous applause.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Screamed Thalia just then making everybody laugh and Liv scooped her up in her arms.

Everyone got up to congratulate them starting with Gerry and Karen.

"Congratulations, dad." Said Gerry, hugging his father then Olivia.

"Thank you, Ger."

"I love you dad. Congratulations. "Said Karen crying while Fitz hugged her tight. He kissed her on the cheek and told her he loved her too. It meant a lot that his children were there. Thalia held out her arms towards Fitz. She wanted her daddy. Fitz happily obliged and when he pulled her close she rested her head on his shoulders.

"Daddy's little girl." He whispered.

They continued to make their way down the aisle and when they got to the end Liv saw James, then Cyrus' familiar face waiting.

She quickly embraced James while he happily congratulated her. Cyrus regarded her coolly then gave a crooked smile.

"Congratulations, Liv. "

"Thank you, Cyrus. And thanks so much for coming."

"I'm happy for you both. Truly."

"It means a lot to hear you say that. Thank you."

Fitz held her hand and they walked together over to the tent for the reception dinner.

0o0o0o

Later that night Liv, Fitz, and the children were all in the den at the ranch. Everyone was tired but admittedly they all had fun. Gerry and Karen were both asleep on different chairs in the room. Fitz sat beside Liv on the couch with her head rested on his shoulder, while Thalia started to doze snuggled on Fitz's chest.

"For better or worse, Fitz."

"Till death do us part."

"Forever and ever."

Liv looked up at him lovingly and Fitz bent down to touch his lips to hers.

"Maybe even longer than that." He whispered.

_**Thanks again for all the reviews, for checking out the story. thanks for all the favourites and the follows and all the support. You are the best. :-)**_


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